The Story Under The Surface
by The Princess Maker
Summary: It's been almost a year since trees have been reintroduced and the Lorax has returned! But something is stalking the newly growing forest, a new student has arrived at Ted's school, and it doesn't help that the Once-ler is hiding a REALLY big secret from everybody...Rated T for some adult situations, blood, and other dicey stuff later on. I own nothing except the OCs!
1. Reunion

( _Enter the Lorax._ )

Lorax: Hello, everyone! Thanks for stopping by! (Starts reciting from a cue card)

"I am the Lorax,

I speak for the trees.

And I would to say a few words, if you please,

Regarding the story you are about to read ( _Aside_ : Hopefully all the way through)

It actually happened! You can take it from me!

But there was more to the story than what was on the page ( _Sends his cue card off_ )

So pay attention, while I once again set the stage!

( _The curtain opens, and we see the Once-ler's newly fixed-up house. It has been snowing recently, so there's snow on the ground. The Lorax continues._ )

We open outside of Thneedville,

A town people say is no longer as plastic or fake,

But people still like it anyway!

A town reintroduced to nature, with a few living trees.

But something else is coming. What is it? We'll see….

( _The Lorax exits_.)

The Story Under The Surface

Chapter One: Reunion

 _BUZZZZZZZZ!_

*The Once-ler's POV*

If you saw me at this moment in time, you would see me yelp, jump out of bed, and end up holding on to one of the bed posts. That is because I happened to buy an alarm clock with a particularly loud buzzer. As I go and turn it off, I wonder why I'd set _this_ time.

One look at the calendar answers my question: It's Christmas! In an instant, I'm a little kid again and race downstairs to see what's been under the tree. My fake, musical little tree over has a few gifts under it- some from Ted and his family, a few from Audrey and her family, and one gift that I bought for myself. I don't mind, because this year, I have extra special reason to celebrate.

Knock, knock! Oh, looks like Mustache is here early. It's the first year I've had ANYBODY celebrating the holidays with me since way back when. This year, it's just going to be the Lorax and me. The knocking starts up more rapidly. "I'm coming, I'm coming!" I call to him, and open the door. I find the Lorax alright, only his still-bushy mustache has little _icicles_ hanging on it; I quickly bring him in.

"What on Earth happened to you?!" He opens his mouth slightly then he shakes a bit and crack! The little ice pieces break off (thankfully, they weren't too big or very much otherwise I'd be in a bit of trouble!). "Blizzard….." he says, "snuck up on me this time."

"I was under the impression one of your powers was weather control."

"Only in _very_ limited capacity." He rubs the end of his mustache. "So, have I missed the big break-in?" he says excitedly.

"It's NOT a break-in because he doesn't take anything." Don't worry, I'm not mad. Mustache has heard a little about Christmas but whether he really knows it as the birthday of Jesus Christ or just a day where people give each other presents under a (in his probable opinion) overly-decorated tree should be left up for debate.

So as I prepare breakfast, I explain the story of Santa Claus again and think about what has happened over the year. The last Truffula seed sprouted much quicker than I thought, and before long, I got the bunch of saplings around my yard. It's supposed to take ten months for a Truffula seed to germinate, ten years for the tree to become a sapling and ten more years for it to become a full-grown tree. This time, it took a month and a half. The animals on the other hand, aren't coming back for a quite awhile although I know where they are: They're in the southern district of town where the smog and stuff wasn't so prevalent. According to the Lorax, they took to seasonal migration during that time and apparently have spent years just circling their original home. In the meantime, you can imagine the shock of the people of Thneedville when they found out who I was, how long I've been out here, etc. The people of Thneedville are actually pretty nice; they've even helped me fix my Lerkim! And guess what else? I get _fan mail_ now! I've even gotten a letter from someone in Tahiti and up until I got an updated map a month ago, I didn't even know where Tahiti was located on a map.

I'm about ready to start eating breakfast when I hear what sounds like bumping, coming from inside my rarely-if-ever-used chimney. "Something's in my chimney…." I slowly approach the fireplace while readying to peek up it. Mustache tries to say something, but he has pancakes in his mouth so I can't understand him. I stick my head in the fireplace and am about to look up when something lands on me. I yelp slightly and bump my shoulders, and whatever landed on me falls out. It's a Brown Bar-ba-loot!

"What are you doing here?!" The Lorax says to him (it's a male, trust me). He squeaks something in reply. "No, no! Only fat guys in red with long beards come through chimneys! You could have spo-"He's cut off because another Bar-ba-loot has somehow found its way to my fridge; at the same time, there's another knock on my door. I open it to see a bunch of other Bar-ba-loots, Swomee Swans and Humming Fish are at my doorstep. Before I can say anything, the younger ones-and I mean REALLY younger ones- run between my legs and race to join the two already in my house. What I assume to be their parents and/or other family follow behind them and I let the rest in before anything else happens.

"I'm sorry, Beanpole! I thought I'd surprise you!" The Lorax calls over the noise of hyperactive young animals. These guys already got crazy for food, especially the youngest ones. I can write in my diary now that my first Christmas reunited with my friend has involved rounding up hyperactive animals and trying to find out which one swiped my breakfast. Eventually, the little ones cool their jets and sit calmly in my living room. No one has the will to scold any, for now. I sit myself in front of an older, male Bar-ba-loot in my kitchen.

"I think I should put a padlock on my fridge….." I joke with him. He smiles slightly, but he looks around me. As I look closer, I realize there's something…..familiar about this one. Then he smiles at me. His teeth are covered by marshmallows. " _Pipsqueak_?" I say, in a half-whisper. "Is it really you?"

His smile falters as he starts to tear up, but he's nodding. He then jumps on my face as a way to hug me.


	2. Reunion Part Two

**Happy Late New Year! I hope you all haven't given up on my story yet. Here follows the rest of the Once-ler's reunion with the Lorax and animals at Christmas. Oh, you'll see numbers throughout the story which will be explained at the end of each chapter. LT stands for "Lorax Translation"; in this story, the Once-ler can kind of understand the animals' speech but this is just here for 100% clarification. Now, onward!**

Chapter Two: Reunion Part Two

*The Once-ler's POV*

Pipsqueak isn't the only one who is still here. Once the fattest Bar-ba-loot in the valley, Lou is (considerably) thinner than before but he is still the biggest out of everyone present. I had no problem recognizing him. The little quacking Swomee-Swan, Bill, has grown and his feathers are almost platinum-colored now. His voice has also deepened, which is quite obvious if he quacks. Pipsqueak himself doesn't look so much different, but his hair is a bit thinner and duller in color (as it apparently goes with older Bar-ba-loots). His height hasn't changed much either but I was kind of relived to hear that; I've felt guilty of possibly setting his growth back a few stages or something but he just shrugs.

(LT): "I guess I was just destined to be a smaller Bar-ba-loot."

The only ones who _aren't_ around from the group I knew are Finn and Gil, the Humming-Fish, BUT their younger, mutual friend Skipper ( **1** ) is alive. Finn and Gil died six years ago and evidently in a very dramatic fashion as Skipper acts out by standing and walking around on his tiptoes (or tip fins), barring his teeth and generally doing what would look like a Frankenstein monster impression to many.

"A shark…..?" I ask. "Yep," the Lorax nods, "it was a shark."

How far did guys go, Florida?! We're _nowhere_ near open ocean! I think they can sense the confusion coming from me so Mustache explains: "Occasionally, a few animals will catch a sense of adventure and will venture out from the group." Some of the animals look a bit down as he says this but most don't look too upset. _It probably has something to do with the laws of the Animal Kingdom or something like that,_ I think to myself.

Besides the four just mentioned, Ellie ( **2** ) is also still alive and has mated with Pipsqueak; Lou mated with a Bar-ba-loot named Charlie and has two sons, one of whom is already a parent; and Skipper mated with another Humming-Fish named Izzy, and has three daughters, one of whom is also already a parent. Bill's mate Luna died a few years ago, as had Finn and Gil's mates, but their children are still alive: Bill has a son named Willie, and Willie mated with Filly. Finn and Gil mated with a pair of twins named Mina and Sina, and due to this, Finn has two sons (Bobbie and Buoy) and a daughter named Binnie, while Gil has one of each- Prince and Princess (and yes, I think that was intentional).

Believe it or not, the newest generations are all grandchildren of my friends. There are nine in all: Two Swomee-Swans (belonging to Bill), three Humming-Fish (one for each of the trio), and four Bar-ba-loots (three belonging to Pipsqueak and one for Lou). Billy is Bill's oldest grandson and the oldest of the nine. Between him and the youngest, there are Louis, Pippin, Pippa, Ozzy, Nina, her cousin Pina, and Ducky. The youngest of everyone present is Pippy, Pipsqueak and Ellie's younger granddaughter. She's _really_ tiny, probably the size of a large hamster, I can barely fit her in the palm of my hand! Rounding out the rest of the animals are other adults, younger adults, and juveniles, although from what the Lorax has told me when he came back, breeding season will start late May/early June so I have a feeling there's going to be a least a few new animals around by this time next year. The talking between them snaps me out of my thoughts.

(LT): "I thought you said this place was _dank!_ " Pippy squeaks to her grandpa, who narrows his eyes slightly.

(LT): "That's because it WAS dank, Pippy. It's just not smoggy anymore." Then Pippin chimes in. (LT): "So where are all the big wheels?" _Probably the gears on machines in the factory,_ I think.

"If you all want to see, you just have to go down the hill near us. The factory is still there." I say but I should have known what mayhem that would cause because all nine and a few juveniles start begging their parents to take them there.

Mustache looks surprised. "I thought this was the only structure left!" I shake my head a bit.

"No, most of the factory is still there. You have to go down the hill to get there because the elevator I had from this place down there collapsed years ago." I stand up and start for the door. "But if we're all going, there's only one way we're gonna get there." I reached a closet right by the door, and I'm glad I looked down at my feet and notice the little ones following me.

"You need to back up." They do a couple inches. "Little more." They do so a little more. " _Little_ more." I say, doing the thumb-and-forefinger bit. By now, all nine are starting to cram themselves in between the spaces on my couch and the others are starting to wonder what I'm up to.

They don't have to wait long. Now that everyone is sufficiently out of the way, I open the closet door and with a loud crash, out falls a toboggan (the right side up, of course) ( **3** ).

"We're _sledding_ there." All the younger ones cheer and bump into one another to get it.

 **Okay, this chapter took waaay longer than I intended** **I hope the Lorax's translations were alright and this isn't too long for everybody. This chapter would have originally ended with a conservation between the Once-ler and Pipsqueak, but I think that would have been too long! Now for the marked numbers:**

 **#1: In the movie when the Once-ler first arrives in the forest and in the short "Wagon-Ho!", there are three Humming-Fish that are together but only two, Finn and Gil, are named. The third is for the sake of my story and I gave him the name "Skipper" to stay with the marine theme (Get it?).**

 **#2: I read somewhere that the Bar-ba-loot Lou tries to win over in short "Serenade" is named Ellie. I haven't been able to find that since, but even so, that's the name I'm sticking with!**

 **#3: A toboggan is a type of sled that curves up at one end.**

 **I hope you don't think the animals' names are too lame. In our next chapter, the gang takes a trip to what remains of the old factory and the Once-ler tells everyone a few things about what went on there and about his family! Stay tuned…..**


	3. Reunion Part Three

**Warning: This chapter contains spoilers for a few books. Read at your own risk!**

Chapter Three: Reunion Part Three

*The Once-ler's POV*

I was really surprised when I found this toboggan in my house, a few years after I moved in. Every once in awhile, I would allow myself a bit of levity and sled down some of the hills here, for fun or when looking to find other seeds or signs of recovery. Well, the last time I went out on this sled was a little over twenty years ago, and in that time, I've forgotten how steep the hill down to factory actually is. Thankfully, I'm not the only who notices this. The Lorax, most of the adult animals and a few juveniles have started having second thoughts about this, looking wary at the hill in front of us.

"Ya know, maybe we should wait until most of the snow melts." Mustache says.

"(LT): What would be the point if there's no snow?" Ducky asks. Baby animals, just like us humans, are not easily dissuaded from something.

"(LT): Or maybe some of us can beat a path for the sled to go down." Lou suggests. That sounds like a smart idea to me, but before I can tell him that, Lou's grandson Louis sneezes and falls backward on the sled. This would not cause too much fuss, but Louis (although still very young) is the biggest out of all the youngest Bar-ba-loots (just like his grandfather, no doubt). And his weight is enough to tip the toboggan over and send it heading down the hill. Nobody else had time to react in a way that would stop the sled but Charlie and Skipper managed to grab the sled…..and end up plunging down the hill with the nine, most of whom have their hands up and are yelling like people on a roller coaster. Now, I've learned that when you are sledding on a hill like this with still a lot of tree stumps around (but hidden), you better be either wearing protective gear, be so big that you won't fall off, OR you can pray that you don't hit something going down because if you do, you're gonna go flying.

And that's exactly what ends up happening: The toboggan hits a small stump in the snow, causing all nine to go flying in the air and end in the snow. Charlie lost her grip almost as soon as she grabbed the sled but Skipper managed to hold on the whole way down despite hitting the ground and small rocks; when the sled hits the stump, it lifts a few inches off the ground causing Skipper to let go and end in the snow with the rest of them. All I could see is his tail fins, flapping around. The rest of us on top of the hill are so surprised by what just happened that no one reacts for a minute or two before we frantically run after them, calling to see if they're okay. I run too, before remembering how steep the hill. I'm not THAT old but I'm not in my twenties, so if I lost my balance, they'd have to find their kids AND deal with me (Can you imagine how it would be if I _landed_ on someone? That'd be so embarrassing…..).

We manage to find everyone, all of whom are thankfully still in one piece. None of the little ones seem to sweat the fact that they could've bashed their heads on hidden stumps; in fact, they all wanted to do it _again_ , but the rest of us shut down that idea. As I step back and let their families lecture them, I turn towards the pathway towards the factory. It looks worn from age and disuse, I'm surprised the cranes and conveyer belts are still up; I'd thought they would have collapsed by now ( **1** ). I know most think my factory was the biggest part of my Lerkim and that is true, but it was all connected to down here by a partially-outdoor glass elevator. One of the few things the Lorax and the animals liked about this place was the outdoor elevator from the top of the cliff outside to the bottom indoors. They were so disappointed when I told them that it fell apart years ago.

 _Don't worry,_ I told them, _Thneedville probably has a bunch of them. If I ever find one, I'll smuggle you all there and you can ride it._ I used to come down here during my exile to look around, but I haven't been here in quite a while.

I stop at the door. "Now before we go in," I say to everyone, "don't touch _anything_ that resembles a switch. Before the wall was put up, I still got electricity to this place," Unbelievable, right? "And I don't want any of you getting electrocuted just so we can find out." At this, we look towards the little ones because we know if we turn our backs on them, they're gonna find mischief to get into (Well, all of them except Billy. He's almost a teenager, so he's old enough to know better). I open the door (which is bit rusted, making me push it and when it goes, it makes an echolike clanking noise) and go in, the others following slowly behind and then spreading out in different directions.

But the first thing that Mustache notices right off the bat is the _smell_. I know it's not what he expected. He plugs his nose and turns to me. "Okay," his voice comes out slightly gurgled, "who are you and what did you did to Beanpole's REAL factory? It never smelled this, this…."

"Fragrant?"

"Yeah!" he says, slightly exasperated.

"You have Ted's mom to thank for that. A few months ago, she introduced me to an air freshener called Febreze. I came in here earlier and sprayed it everywhere." Only when I actually got in here did I realize it didn't have the smoky, smog smell anymore- it just smelled like old abandoned building.

"(LT): I thought that stuff was called Pine-Sol!" Pipsqueak calls from across the room.

"(LT): No, that's the floor cleaner." Ellie answers.

While the rest of the animals are spread out and looking around, me and the Lorax wander up the stairs (really worn down too, so climb it at your own risk!) and go to the room at the very end of the slightly dark hallway. "What's in here?" he asks from the ground. I turn the handle and slowly open the door. "My old office."

My very first office is really not that much bigger than a walk-in closet and wasn't as spruced up as the one that's now in my house. There's only one window (which isn't all that big), my desk is dull, and there's a filling cabinet right to the left the door. On top of the cabinet, there's a glass case. _Wonder if it was ever found….._ I think as go through the cabinet. There are several old papers in this cabinet; ones that I must've forgotten to take up to the Lerkim. I'm about to show them to the Lorax when an animal screams from down the hall. Immediately, he starts running that direction.

"What'd they say?!" I call to him. "They say there's BLOOD in that room!" is the half-frantic response. Ordinarily, the mention of blood would send _me_ running as well, but as I follow a distance behind, I get the feeling that they found one part of this place that would actually make them laugh. When I catch up to everyone, Mustache is consoling a few young Bar-ba-loots and I take a step into the room with the supposed blood. The room is just an ordinary supply closet with stuff that's been gathering dust, and on the floor, there's a fairly large spat of red stuff which most (including my friends) think is blood. I can sense everyone slowing looking in from the door. "Why is there blood in here?" Mustache asks, probably from surprise. "It's not blood. It's this." I hold up a dusty glass full of the red stuff but no one can see what the label reads. But thankfully, most of the animals got the sense that there's a story behind all this, and any straggling little ones are rounded up and hushed. For my part, I sit at the top of the staircase leading down to the factory floor (It's _really_ rickety, so don't try this at home!).

I start off by asking them if they've ever heard of something called "Take Your Child to Work Day". "(LT): Where parents take their kids to their work?" is Ellie's response.

"You got it." I nod. "We had the same thing here. One time, I think it was in 1972, we had only children from my family there." The older animals' eyes widen slightly. "I mean my _extended_ family. Cousins and their children."

"Who were they?" the Lorax asks. He's just as curious as the animals are."I don't remember exactly who was there, but I DO remember that there was a seven-year-old girl with her five-year-old brother, and they had a ten-year-old sister who was at school that day. The only two I really remember were these twin girls who'd just turned two. Gertrude and Margaret were their names, but we would irk them by calling them Gertie and Margie." That earns a snicker.

"Anyways, I had just moved into my new office which is on the hill. I was going through a pile of paperwork when Chet comes barreling in, trampling Brett in the process….."

 _When he comes running in, he made me use my focus and I was just about to snap at him when he tells me that the closet in full of our family, all cut up and bleeding…_

The parents among the group are starting to look worried. "Now, most of you are parents," I say, "so you don't need me to tell you what horrifying thoughts went through my head as I ran over here with my brother. I was scared that one or more of them had gotten away from my Uncle Ubb-who was _supposed_ to be watching them- and gotten into some of the machinery around here."

 _The two of us ran off before Brett or my mother could stop us, and we used the elevator that used to be here. Both of us were SUPER nervous, and when I get nervous, I shake and bite my nails. We were shaking so much; I'm amazed we didn't rock the whole elevator!_

"We made it to this floor after what felt like forever, and I'd just gotten to the door next to the closet when _WHAM!_ " I emphasize this by banging my ankle against the steps, making a clanking noise. Several animals jump and the Lorax actually yelps a bit.

"Geez! Don't do that, man!"

"Sorry…" I suddenly realize just how invested everyone seems to be in my story.

"The closet door opened on me and knocked me backward. Thank Heaven Chet is big and rather stocky otherwise we'd _both_ go down." My nose twitches and my hand automatically goes to rub the left side of it (which is your right, by the way). "In fact, every time I think about this incident too deeply, my nose will hurt in the exact same area." It didn't just hurt like heck; I actually had to get a small stitch or two to close it. "Out the door comes Uncle Ubb with a bunch of small children behind him. That seven-year-old's back had some red stuff, and most of them were a blubbering mess. My uncle sat them all down and was starting to clean their snotty faces when he noticed us, me in daze and my brother utterly confused. We MIGHT have been able to settle everything there if we didn't hear the clock chime noon, the time for everyone currently working to go on their lunch breaks- family members and others. So then the hallway was full of people calling 'What happened?' and me trying to get everyone settled." I pull my legs up closer to me.

"We brought them to my office, and questioned them but it only took three children before we realized that they were all gonna have the same story. Theirs was that they were bringing in the jars the red stuff is in, and a second after Uncle Ubb pulled the light cord, he screamed and they dropped all the paint they had." I hold up the jar of presumably rotten red finger paint ( **2** ), and everyone's eyes widen and a few gasp.

"That's not blood? It's just paint?!" Mustache exclaims and I nod. "Yep. All finger paint. Not a drop of blood anywhere, except on me for getting a door opened on me. It took only three children to realize we needed to talk to my uncle, so we brought him and he says it was because of a snake-". The instant I said 'snake', the Lorax's eyes widen a bit but the others freak a little. The Bar-ba-loots run and cram themselves on the conveyer belt on the factory, Humming-Fish trying to cram themselves in with them, and Swomee-Swans either fly in the air or find an empty spot on the railings. The Lorax attempts to calm them down. "There are no snakes here!" he says, "There's never _been_ any snake here!" After a few minutes, everyone settles down a little though most of them have not moved from their new high spots. I have to admit, I'm pretty embarrassed. "Eh…..sorry, guys." I say sheepishly. If I'd known this would freak them out so much, I would have run this by Mustache first. "No worries, it's just…" Mustache looks unsure of how to continue, "We don't usually run into any other animals around here."

They haven't? "You haven't?" That's a new one on me, but it does explain a few things which I'll get to in a minute. He shakes his head slightly and explains there really haven't been any other animals living in this valley; the only times there have been were escaped pets. "The most common were dogs but a few were cats, and once, someone's Sulphur-crested cockatoo ( **3** )." A few Swomee-swans shudder a bit. "(LT): I remember that guy…" Bill says, "Scared the absolute stuffing outta me."

"Well, that just confirms one of my theories." I explain that sitting here for a long time has given me the opportunity to think about certain times and during that time, I came up with a pretty good (if I do say so myself) possibility of what _might_ have happened: It wasn't a real snake, one of my relatives just put up a _fake_ one to get a jive out of another relative- whether it was my uncle or not will probably remain unclear. On how I know it was a relative? "Of course it was. Nobody would be idiotic enough to risk their job or their freedom for that matter over pulling a stunt like that." I turn a bit serious. "You guys are lucky in some sense, you've only seen my immediate family and the fights we've had. You've never seen fights between extended family. THOSE are a lot more hairy-and in some, more physical."All this is true, I remember twice where two cousins got in separate fights and came away with serious injuries. The Lorax is pretty dumbfounded as well as the animals. I guess they never really thought we could actually get violent. "So why'd you bring them here?!"

"Because, they're my _family_ , "- he groans, because this is the same thing I'd said LAST time- "and because we had something else holding us together." Everyone's eyes widen a bit. "It was a wedding ring. It had a diamond and some wavy design on it ( **4** ), and also an engraving but I forgot what it said. It was the most valuable thing we owned and it was our pride- I had my relatives work in this business if they'd just let me keep the ring here." I gesture towards my old office before rubbing my temple. "As it turns out, I shouldn't have even done that. Several weeks before the last tree came down, the ring went missing and my **entire** family freaked ( **5** )." I explain how the tension of it might explode and cause my company to suffer from the in-fighting so I gave everyone until Halloween of that year to hand it over." I trail off as that's where the story ends.

"But that never happened." Mustache finishes for me and I nod. Everyone seems a bit disappointed but a few are still confused. "(LT): I don't understand. Why fight over a ring?" Pipsqueak asks.

"That ring has been in my family for a _long_ time," I explain, "at least three generations PRIOR to my mother. But where it came from and who had it first aren't clear and that's probably because it came from my father's side-"I wince, regret immediately filling me.

 _You_ _ **idiot**_ _,_ my inner voice is telling me, _why you'd have to go and say that?!_

 _They asked…_

 _I suppose next you're gonna tell them what's REALLY in that red book_ ( **6** ) _._ I've already told the Lorax that I don't want anyone going through that book just now. But no one, past or present, has heard me talk about my father. I shove my anger down as far as I can and say "I'd _really_ rather not talk about my dad right now." Everyone gets the message and backs off on that but before anyone can say anything else, Pipsqueak pulls a chain on the machinery and ends up drenched with water. Poor guy! I volunteer to take him back to the house to dry off and before long, I have him under my Thneed and by the heater.

"I'm so glad we have a chance to talk, Pip." He nods enthusiastically; I can only see everything from his eyes up (but thankfully, Bar-ba-loots have impressive eyes). I suddenly realize something I don't know about him. "Hey, Pip, I know I've seen your grand cubs. But which ones are your children?" His smile vanishes suddenly and he looks away (or downward).

"Pip…?" Is he okay? Then his eyes start watering pretty fast and I knew why. "Oh. Oh, Pipsqueak, I'm so sorry….." Great, my first meeting with him in forever, and I screw up with my big mouth. Pipsqueak covers the rest of himself and I decide to leave him alone for a bit to make everyone has made it back. By the time I remembered he was over there, he was already gone.

 **UGH! This took FOREVER! I've been having some major changes going on since before school let out and I've just found out about file size requirements….I want to give my sympathies to those who are suffering in Orlando right now and in France too! I also wish to express my dismay at the violence erupting during the Euro matches. Seriously, it's only a game!  
**

 **#1: In the 2012 movie after 'How Bad Can I Be?', the outside of the factory is shown and it had at least two cranes. The book and 1972 cartoon has a bigger factory as well. Please keep this in mind as the factory setting will be important later on.**

 **#2: This whole incident comes straight from the book** _ **The Best School Year Ever**_ **by Barbara Robinson. I thought it would be good for showing the Once-ler's family dynamics.**

 **#3: Sulphur-crested cockatoos are the white cockatoos with yellow heads. According to Wikipedia, they can be demanding pets. I don't know why but I thought of the 'escaped pets', this was the first thing I imagined.**

 **#4: This ring is basically a combination of the ring on this story's avatar and the Promise Ring item from the** _ **Nintendogs**_ **game series. I don't own that ring, I got off a website (contact me and I'll send you there if you'd like).**

 **#5: From** _ **Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hard Luck**_ **. KEEP THESE IN MIND! They WILL be important later on!**

 **I don't mean to beat a dead horse, but please try to keep the things the Once-ler (for the most part) has been talking about in mind! It will be explained later on, including who Rika is. I hope you got through my flashbacks in this chapter, it wouldn't always be like that.  
**

 **Next time, we take a step away from the valley and meet up with Ted, as a new student joins his class...**


	4. Gona Da-lier

( _Slow dissolve to Ted, sitting at a school desk and looking mighty tired. It is now the third week of January, 2013. The Lorax enters from behind near the door._ )

Lorax: "We bring you now to Ted, now a year older and back in school, where I've heard all kids should be. As you can see, he's having a bit of trouble waking up. ( _Glances over and sees a short-haired blonde boy smack his head down and start sleeping._ ) And judging by the looks of it, he's not the only one."

( _The Lorax exits_.)

Chapter Four: Gona Da-lier

*Ted's POV*

I'll admit: I've never really gotten jealous-okay, too terrifically jealous- of others. _Except_ during this time of year where I ALWAYS find myself wishing I was my mom's cousins, who live on the west coast, where I've heard they get a few more days off before winter break ends ( **1** ). It's been what, a little over two weeks since school started again and Mom STILL has to come wake me up.

I look to the row beside mine towards my friend Billy ( **2** ). He sits in the next row and one desk ahead of mine and normally I would be chatting with him before class starts but he has to get up even earlier than me due to living further from school than I do. So during the beginning of the year, he's usually more tiring to get back into the swing of getting up earlier than anything. So I'm left to my own thoughts.

I can't believe it's almost a year since trees- _real ones_ as Audrey'd said- came back. Now Thneedville's trying to encourage the animals to come back by transplanting other kinds of trees in the valley. And according to the Once-ler, the Truffalas around his house are growing faster than he'd excepted so hopefully, more animals should be coming soon. As for me, nothing much in my life has changed although occasionally people will still come up to me and ask me questions.

 _Now don't let fame get to your head_ , the Once-ler would cajole me. No worries- after hearing smaller details from him about being really famous, I decided I want no part of it. Oh, hang on, class is starting. Billy starts to rouse himself.

Miss Sneetcher ( **3** ) arrives and explains we have a new classmate, who she brings up to the front of the room. I have to admit, my eyebrows rose a bit when I saw her. The girl is wearing what looks like a blazer, and matching dark-green skirt. She has long black hair and her eyes are really brown ( **4** ). She's…actually kind of pretty. Not as pretty as Audrey, of course, but awfully close.

"My name is Gona. Gona Da-lier ( **5** ). Or you could call by my middle name Vanessa." She shifts her feet quite a bit and looks down at them. I certainly can't blame her for feeling so nervous, she looks like she wants to be anywhere but the front of the classroom (I don't know any 'new kid' who felt like being there on their first day at a school!).

"That's a very unique name, Gona. Are you named after someone?" Miss Sneetcher asks.

"I was born on a gondola in Italy." And that's all she'd say. With that, she's put in a spot just a few seats ahead of me on the left. I stare at her for a couple of seconds before we're called to start discussing our book assignment. As we start reading, I find myself constantly glancing at Gona.

I can't shake this feeling that there's…something familiar about her.

 **Hello all! Here's another relatively short chapter for you, introducing our first OC! But first, our markers (the #s):**

 **#1: I lived on the East Coast for most of my elementary school years, and during that time, we'd get out like, really early in December for break and then we'd get back almost the day after New Year's Eve. The West Coast, you get out a few DAYS before Christmas and you usually have a couple of extra days after New Year's before school starts again (that's what I've noticed, anyway).**

 **Oh, and Ted was just mentioning other family but only his mom and grandma will appear.**

 **#2: The idea for him came from a Deviantart user called KicsterAsh, who drew this amazing (unfortunately discontinued) comic named 'Truffula Trove'. I basically used Billy because I realized I didn't give Ted any friends other than Audrey.**

 **I don't know this artist personally, but all credit for him should go to her (and if anyone knows her, please tell her!)**

 **#3: Miss Sneetcher is the name of the teacher from Dr. Seuss's** _ **Daisy-Head Mayzie**_ **, which was published in 1995. I have it, and it's rhyming is really funny!**

 **#4: For Gona's appearance, picture the character of Yozora Mikazuki from the anime/manga** _ **Haganai**_ **(its shortened title, by the way) in her green uniform. Think of that, but Gona's eyes are really brown, not purple. You will see why Ted finds her so familiar later!**

 **#5: Her name is really unusual, I know. I was trying to create a Seuss-sounding name. Her name is pronounced GO-NA DA-LEER. Gona is actually the name of a coastal village in Papua New Guinea and I was trying to make her name also sound like gondola. Read more and you'll also learn why her middle name is Vanessa.**

 **While I was looking over my last chapter, I'd realized I forgot to write in what #6 meant, so here it is:**

 **#6: Do you remember near the end of 'Let It Grow' where the Once-ler reached for the axe to chop away the boards on his window, we get a brief glimpse of Ted's 'payment' on top of a red book? It looks like a photo album, in my opinion. I decided to expand on it!**

 **For Ted's classroom, I kept in mind my tenth-grade science room. It had three rows of chairs in the middle of the room and a row of lab tables on either side. The entry/exit that I normally took were in the back of the room, so Ted would be sitting in the back of the middle row of seats and he'd have to turn around to see the clock :D**

 **Stay tuned for more! Next up, Audrey meets Gona, and Ted manages to get more than a few sentences out of her…**


	5. Audrey, and Gona's turtle shell

Chapter Five: Audrey, and Gona's turtle shell

( _It's the same day as Ted's first encounter with Gona Da-lier. Just an hour or so later, Audrey has finishing changing into gym clothes and is listening to the day's activities._ )

*Audrey's POV*

Early on in my school life, I've found that I am not cut out for psychical activity, especially during P.E. Running is the absolute _worst_ , though I have fun when we get to do on the track outside, but it's still too cold out. I would feel even better if Ted shared gym with me, but the only thing we share this year is our lunch break.

The teacher pairs us off for our warm-up exercises, my partner being the new girl. I try to avoid staring at her at my feet as I do my sit-ups. No, she doesn't have any zits or something like that! She just looks… _dour_ , really dour. I'm not really sure what to say to that, so I just keep quiet. Before long, however, I start to feel the strain of doing sit-ups. As I attempt to get out of my position and switch places, I find I can't even get my hands separated so Gona has to help pick them apart.

"You're not one for athletics, are you, Audrey?" she asks.

"Ugh, no…" I groan, taking my position at her feet. To my amazement, she starts up and doesn't seem to get winded after her fifth one like I typically do.

"How are you doing that?" I ask. She blinks, surprised, which is probably the most reactive she's been since we started.

"Well….." she doesn't really meet my gaze, "I could say it's because I like doing exercises and all that and I'm sure that's partially why. But my dad taught me a trick: If you do your sit-ups slowly and find something you can focus your gaze on when you sit up, you can go through them with little or no pain. And," she sits up fully because she's done with them, "don't hold your hands together so tightly."

I start to laugh at that, and she smiles a bit. Before I can say anything more, the class is called to move on to climbing ropes and we get separated. I don't have her in any other classes and I haven't found where she sits during lunch. Though I keep hoping we get paired together during gym again, so I can tell her my push-ups have improved, thanks to her.

( _Pan to a calendar. The date now reads February first, 2013. A boy, taller and slightly more buff-looking than Ted runs past, followed shortly by Ted himself. Ted's eyebrows raise slightly as he notices the audience, AKA the reader._ )

*Ted's POV*

You are probably wondering why I'm breaking the rules and running in the hallway. I'll tell you: it's all because of Greg Bollock ( **1** ). Ever since fifth grade, Greg Bollock has been the main bully in my life. I've been teased a lot because of my admittedly shorter-than-average height (for a guy, at least) but Greg Bollock would also go and steal my lunch money.

I first encountered him, what, five years or so ago and he STILL does this to me! I know, I shouldn't be running after him-as I've been scolded for this before- but once I find myself running after him, I just can't stop. Greg gets to the end of the hall and is going to turn left which means I'll essentially lose him so I slow down. But just before he turns the corner, I hear a small _WHAP!_ sound and Greg lies on his back. As I jog the rest of the way, I think Greg must be pretty thankful he's wearing a backpack with stuff in it otherwise he'd go right on his back. I glance up from him, who's a bit dazed, and am surprised to see Gona stepping out from around the corner with a black binder in her hands. And she does _not_ look happy. Before I or Greg can say anything, she picks Greg up (by the front of his shirt!), stands him on his feet and sticks out her hand.

"Hand it over." she says. Would you believe it, Greg actually does just that. Not only that, he slowly moves around her and then runs off. "And don't let me catch you doing that again!" she calls after him. She turns back to me, with her teeth gritted and looking annoyed. She hands over my lunch money but I don't take it for a moment as I start to see Gona in a different way. Ever since she started in my class, I have not heard or seen her talking to anybody or vice versa. I think most are afraid of her because she looks so dour.

"Thanks….." I say taking my money back but in my head, I was thinking _Boy, this is awkward._ I suddenly have an idea. "Do you want to sit with me at lunch today?" Her face brightens and she also looks a bit shocked.

In fact, she actually looks a bit flustered. "Oh! Um….sure, I'll….sit with you. L-lead the way." She says and I do. I don't think Gona is scary, from what I've witnessed and what I've heard from Audrey. She just seems shy, like really shy.

I hope I don't sound rude but she reminds me of a turtle in some ways. Not in terms of speed, of course, but in terms of opening up. Every once in awhile, she'll come out of her shell and people will get a glimpse of her true self. Perhaps she needs a friend and then others will see that she is not the scary, dour, black-haired girl that sits quietly all day.

 **#1: A character in the one-shot 'From Grandfather's Stories' by a user named BeingNormalSucks and used with their permission.**

 **Hello all! I hope you've all been okay! I'm under some stress but hopefully, that should lessen after this weekend. Before I go, a quick note about Ted and Audrey's ages: According to the Dr. Seuss wiki, Ted is twelve and Audrey is eighteen. But in my story, they are fifteen (Ted) and seventeen (Audrey), making them fourteen and sixteen respectively during the movie storyline. Age kind of has a big part in this story.**

 **Oh, and happy (incredibly belated) Fourth of July!**

 **Coming up: The Once-ler explains some complicated historical/societal issues, and reveals a few mysterious details about his family including the issue of his father…**


	6. Family and History Part One

( _Lunchtime, the same day as Ted invites Gona to sit with him at lunch._ )

Chapter Six: In which the Once-ler explains more Family (with some History!)

Part One: The 'First' Once-ler

*The Once-ler's POV*

Remember how I said I got fan mail now? ( **1** ) Well, that's not the only thing people have sent me. People send me _food_ now- some from out of state but most are from people in town. I'm grateful for that but with the new diets and stuff, I've been questioning what people consider to be 'real food'. But the biggest winner of them all was when I was sent a _driver's license_ \- which had quite a few factual errors. Even though I'm not entirely comfortable with being in town, I somehow screwed up enough courage to go to the DMV (unfortunately this is how I learned how notoriously slow they were). No one knew who sent it (I believe it was a joke) but they offered to give me a driver's test and get issued a _legitimate_ one.

I wasn't the best student in school (doing C+/B- work at best) but one of the few subjects I've actively paid attention to was Driver's Ed. I was worried driving laws might've changed in the years I've been away but one look at the questions told me nothing had changed on that end- in fact, it was the _exact same test_ I took way back when. Other strange deliveries include a pension. I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but I'm pretty sure that's out of pity (although I will say the government hasn't shown up at my door for taxes). Anyways, I chose to eat something I've been sent which is this casserole of some kind that's green and almost looks cake-like ( **2** ). Across my small counter table, the Lorax is eyeing it in confusion.

"What IS it?"

"I think it's a casserole….." _At least, I'm pretty sure it is..._

"Oh, come on, Bean-Pole. That looks like a turtle that's been put under a pile of mashed potatoes that have lost their mashyness!" _That might also be true_.

"There's no turtle in this, I'm not even sure if that's legal. Here, touch it and see." He hops off the incredibly bulky dictionary and random smaller book he has to use on the chair to the chair next to him (which doesn't have anything for him to stand on) and now all I can see of him is the very top of his head and a little of his eyebrows. He then sticks his hand up and points in my direction.

"I ain't touching that thing. No way!"

I don't really want to touch it either so I decide to use a fork. Mustache climbs up and leans on the table to watch. I slightly poke it in its side…..and it _deflates_. I swear I heard the air comin' out of it! Our eyes slowly follow it down. We stare at it for a minute or so until I say "Maybe we should go with the tacos instead…" Mustache agrees and heads to collect them from the freezer, but still looks over his shoulder, as if our rejected plate is gonna jump up and attack us or something (I do the same thing).

"Ted says there's a new kid in his class." Mustache enjoys hearing about Ted and Audrey even though they haven't met yet. I insisted they wait until school lets out much to the kids' chagrin- _You sound like my mom!_ was Ted's response.

"What're they like?"

"Um…..she's quiet. Real quiet."

"Maybe she's got the voice thing that makes you sound like you're constantly shaking from the cold…" he says as he sniffs ranch for at the least fifth time. I don't think he's a fan of it or just hasn't seen ranch before.

"That's called a _stutter_ , and no, Ted says she doesn't have one. Except when she's nervous. Which seems to be mainly talking to other kids."

"Did he happen to say what this girl looks like?"

"Ted says she has exceptionally brown eyes and long black hair." This coming from various texts messages from Ted and Audrey (and yes, Ted got me a cell phone for Christmas. It took me nearly an hour to figure out how people text on those things). And speaking of Christmas, that brings up something I've been meaning to ask the Lorax but I'm not sure if I should or not.

Unfortunately, my mouth works faster than my brain. "Mustache, I think I might have ruined Pipsqueak's Christmas." I say quickly before smacking my mouth shut. _Boy, that came out wrong..._

"Wh-what? What makes you say that?" He sounds visibly startled. There's no point in hiding now, so I explain what after I took Pip to get dried off, how I told him that I was happy he was here (and by extension, still alive), and how he pretty much stopped talking after I'd asked which of the Bar-ba-loots were his children. As I mention my question to Pipsqueak, he gets this unsurprised and slightly resigned look on his face but he seems to know what I'm talking about.

"Yes...I was afraid it was that." He sighs as he hops off his seat to grab the bag of marshmallows I have in the pantry. "I would've told you sooner, but that would've given away the whole surprise...and I didn't wanna depress you."

That certainly doesn't make me feel better. "Mustache, what happened to Pipsqueak's children?"

" _Child_." He corrects without turning around. "He only had the one." Huh? Pipsqueak? One cub? Something doesn't seem to compute there. Mustache must have read that on my face as he comes back.

"As a general rule," he starts, "I don't involve myself in the personal lives of animals. Although every now and again, I tend to find myself assuming which ones are gonna have the biggest number of babies, which plants will the most seeds. And Pip? I thought he'd go for at least three cubs." He shrugs. "But I guess he never got around to that."

 _He had only one- a girl, named Adriana. She was almost just like Pipsqueak except a LITTLE less mischievous- and maternal just like Ellie. When she grew up, she mated with a Bar-ba-loot named Rocky. Yes, I know that's a odd name but his parents couldn't help it if he was born near a pile of rocks. He was rambunctious and curious, especially about humans. As another rule, they don't venture too close but every once in a while, someone'll wander off too far and then I usually have to intervene..._

He looks down, his hands have been wringing each other almost since he started this story. He sighs and looks up again. "One day, I think it was early March, awhile before Pippy came along, Rocky went missing for a good coupla hours. We all split up to look for him...and I found him." I know I'm not gonna like the answer but I ask anyway, "Where was he?" Silence. And then he finally says, "On the road."

 _On the road..._ There's only one reason why an animal would spend so time near a road. "He was hit by a car?" The Lorax nods. "Yes...Now I don't want you to fret over this, but this would occur occasionally, ever since roads have been put up in this area. The main reason we were and still are so far from town is to keep away from the roads. But every so often, we'd find an animal of ours dead on a side and we'd retrieve them ourselves. But other times-like with Rocky- we'd be too late and humans driving those cars with the word 'Roadkill' on 'em come by and take them away. I found him too late, and we never saw him again."

I...honestly don't know what to say to that but I know it's gonna get a lot worse. "Poor Adriana...Alone, with almost three kids..." Mustache is resting his head on one of his hands and he nods. "Yeah. It was pretty bad...Rocky's mother was still alive at the time and it crushed her. But the worst came from Adriana." My eyes widen slightly. "We didn't know this at the time, but she took Rocky's death a lot harder than most of us were aware of."

"She got depressed?"

"I believe so. She stopped eating about a month later but I didn't know that. All I knew was that in June, she unexpectedly goes into labor and delivers Pippy a month and a half earlier." My heart is starting to pound quickly, but I still need to know what happened. The Lorax closes his eyes for a minute.

 _The labor seemed to be more intense than the other two and it seemed to take FOREVER. But we finally had the super excitable hamster-size Pippy._

"That was the last straw for her. I guess she couldn't handle it anymore, so she just shut her eyes...and never got up." I gulp a little, I'm starting to feel shaky. This is not only depressing me because of what happened but it's also bringing up some other painful memories that I'd rather not speak of now. Oh, poor Pip...I can imagine him hugging Adriana's corpse, crying his head off, with Ellie in the back with Pippin and Pippa who are wondering what's happened to their mother.

Mustache starts talking again, which brings me back to reality. "Now, as hard as this was, they didn't have time to mourn yet. Pippy, as I've said, was earlier than most cubs and she was tinier than she is now. So she needed care, a LOT of care. A lot of the younger females begged Ellie to let them nurse her-"

"But she wouldn't let them?" He shakes his head. "Nope. She took a _very_ big risk here, Ellie's not a 'spring chicken' ( **3** ) as you humans call it," -I roll my eyes and smirk a little at that- "but she isn't entirely outta the nursing stage yet. It was hard for her to get used to feelings of having someone pulling on you several times a day again. And now," he says, pointing at me with a look that says 'You better pay attention', "I'll tell you MY thoughts on the situation."

I sit up a little straighter. When Mustache says he's gonna tell you a secret, you sure as heck better be paying attention. "To be honest, I didn't think Pippy was gonna make it. Not one bit. And I didn't believe Ellie would be able to nurse her, either."

"But she didn't die." I say, and he smiles. "Well, I've been known to be wrong before."

"So now that I've told you my end of secrets, it's time to share YOURS," _Oh, no, no, not now_ \- "specifically why you turn into that Grinch thing from that cartoon you showed us way back when anytime someone brings up your dad." _Oh, thank God!_ For a moment, internal panic had seized me and I thought he was gonna ask about my red book. And while I'm REALLY glad it's not about that, I don't need to tell all of you that this isn't exactly better. "There's nothing to tell." I reply curtly, getting up and going to do my dishes.

"Awww, come on, there's gotta be a reason. Do you know what he was like?"

"No." I'm wiping a glass, a bit quicker now that we're on this subject.

"What did he do?"

"He..." I have to think a bit. It's been _awhile_ since I last thought about this. "He was a businessman...I think."

But I should've realized what he'd ask next. "Was he like you?"

 _CRACK!_ The upper part of the glass explodes in my hand from me squeezing it too hard. " _No_ , he's _not_." I slam what's left of the glass on the counter and turn around to face him. "I'll put it plainly, Mustache: He left. Pure and simple." _Now can we please stop talking about this?_ I expected him to look scared, like he was the last time I'd had an outburst, but instead he just looks at me with a sympathetic look...and then he wags his finger at me slightly.

"Bean-Pole, I've been 'around the block' as you say, longer than you've been alive. And I can tell ya with absolute certainty that nothing is really ever pure, or simple." He has his eyes closed as he says this and opens one of them to see my reaction. I didn't expect this response and I admit my rage falters. I turn to face my sink. I can see out the window but at the moment I'm looking down and have both arms spread out on both sides, steeling myself.

 _About a week or so, after my second birthday, I was using the bathroom for the second time late one night. I heard my parents fighting downstairs, but I couldn't make out the words._ I take a deep breath. _Then I heard the door open and close. The next day, no more dad._

"That was it. No visits, no phone calls, not even A FLIPPIN' LETTER." I kick one of my cabinet doors. I honestly feel like crying, which happens every time I think about this too long or too hard, but I shove them away. I've wasted far too many tears over my dad. "You know," I say turning towards him a bit, "I'd held out the childish hope that he would show up in my life again after I became rich and famous. I even suspected some people-maybe even one person-would come forward and claim to be my father."

"But no one ever did." The Lorax has stopped looking slightly sneaky and looks bad for me. I shake my head.

"No. By the time I came here a second time," E.I. after the all trees were gone, "I'd already given up on that aspect of my life. I haven't seen or heard from my father since I was a little over two years old...and I doubt I ever will again." I sigh. "I don't even remember what my dad looks like, although I suspect I look the most like him out of all three of us brothers and that's why I was usually put down a lot. And believe or not, I'm actually named after him."

"You ARE? There's another Once-ler out there somewhere?!" _Boy, you have no idea._

"Perhaps. But 'Once-ler' isn't my real name. My real name is Wuncler. Once-ler is a nickname that stuck ( **4** ). Anything I could do not to remember my dad I did. He probably thought his current life was a screw-up and that's why he left."

"I'm sorry." Mustache looks like he regrets asking me this. "If he wanted to see someone solve their problems in their 'screw-up' life, he shoulda stayed around to watch you." I blush, VERY thankful he's not looking at me at the moment.

* * *

 ***head desk* *head desk* I'm sorry friends, I'm a bit of a slacker and have kept you waiting! For those who don't watch my profile, this one's gonna be another two-parter! But before we continue...**

 **1\. See Chapter One XD**

 **2\. Based off a lunch thing from the old Nickelodeon TV show _Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide_. In the episode, the thing crawls off their plate. From what I can tell, it looks like a turtle moving under something. I can't find the episode it's on, though. Sorry...:(**

 **3\. 'Spring chicken' is an informal term for young person. Ellie's not young anymore, but she's not too old to stop nursing a newborn cub.**

 **4\. According to TV Tropes (a _really_ fun site, by the way!), the 2012 version of The Lorax has a general trope called 'Who Names Their Kid 'Dude'?. It states that the Once-ler's real name is Wuncler and Once-ler is just a nickname that stuck. You can apparently see this written during the song 'How Bad Can I Be?' but I've watched it several times and I can't find it. If anyone knows which part to watch closely, please tell me!**

 **The title of this chapter was based on something in 'Broadcast Blues', an episode from _The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron_. The show's was 'Funky Jam Dance Party (With some science!)'. The next part's title will sound like a band name XD**

 **I'm experiencing some computer problems so the next chapter/bio updates will not be for quite awhile. Please don't give up on me! I WILL finish this story!**


	7. Family and History Part Two

( _Two days later, just an hour after lunch. The Once-ler knits on lawn wih everyone around._ )

Chapter Seven: Family and History

Part Two: Miriam and The Jammer

*The Once-ler's POV*

When I would the nerve to venture from my house and into the remains of the factory, I would occasionally find bits of Thneed. I'd bring them back with plans of making something and then could never muster up the willpower (except in dire circumstances). The little ones, who've never seen one made, _insisted_ I make one for them. But then they got into an argument over what color it should be. To quell this, I told them I would use all the colors I had on me.

So here I am knitting a large blanket. The animals, I've been told, are going to start trying 'the new trees'-meaning the large oaks and pines that have been relocated around the area ever since the wall was torn down-until the Truffula trees have grown a bit more (by the rate they're going, Mustache says, it should be at least five months). During their seasonal migrations, one area they'd stop in was the far end of town, where there are apparently apple trees ( **1** ). The other end of town, they reported, is not as busy or full of people, but is relatively quieter and, unlike here, wasn't walled off.

Other than that, it's not that much different. But today, I found myself talking about one thing I NEVER expected any of them to witness.

"(LT): It was the weirdest thing," Pipsqueak says, "Because he didn't have a white coat or anything else that doctors have."

"(LT): And he wasn't even in a hospital!" Lou adds.

 _Great_. Most of the time, I'm happy to explain our society to the Lorax and the animals but are certain areas that I will NOT venture into. "Because he probably wasn't a doctor, he was probably a junkie." And then I have to explain what junkies are and what they are using in their 'shots'- only the preliminary of course, because the littlest ones are around. Now this should tell you all two things: #1) Thneedville is like every other town, with its good and bad sides, and #2) when it comes to humans and human society, the animals are just as clueless as the Lorax.

When I'm through, everyone is silent until Bill says "(LT): You sound like you're speaking from experience…"

"I am." I briefly pause my knitting. I've done a lot of stupid things in my life but this is one of those times where I REALLY wanna go back and punch myself over.

 _When I entered high school in the mid-1960s, drugs were…..basically just starting to come onto the scene, even though most of the people in my hometown actively discouraged it._

"But we never went into full details on _why_ , though. And me, being a newly-turned-sixteen-year-old, wanted to see if it WAS all it was hyped up to be so I….." I stop knitting. "I took what was left of my allowance and…...I got a shot of cocaine." I blush. My friends might know the basics of this kind of thing now, but that hasn't stopped me from feeling the shame in front of someone who knows a lot more about it.

"What'd it feel like?" Mustache asks after a pause.

" _Whoa_." I say promptly. Yep. That's still the best way I can describe it.

"(LT): Whoa?" Lou looks confused.

"It was a rush..." I say, with half a sigh. "And I'm not gonna lie, it was a GOOD rush." I shake my head in annoyance. "But what no one TOLD me was that doing cocaine will get you really, really PARANOID ( **2** )."

 _Remember how I told you how I thought I'd hear things out here? Well, imagine that amplified up a notch. I've never liked feeling paranoid at all (who would?) but what kicked me over the edge was that I heard-or thought I heard-someone say something about 'seeing things'. _

"That did it. I panicked and ran. All. The way. Home." I say this kinda breathlessly and lean back in the chair. Looking back, it probably wasn't THAT far from m home, but it certainly felt like it! Mustache lifts the lower end of the Thneed blanket off his head (he'd gotten tired of holding it and it's light enough to breathe under) and looks really concerned. "What happened next?" he asks.

 _I made it back home-I don't know how, but I did!-and by then was so frazzled I pretty much blurted out everything to my mom. I knew I was totally in for it, but instead she took to my room, sat me on my bed, and then just stared at me for the rest of the day. _

"When I finally got it outta my system, THEN she proceeded to chew me out over it (which wasn't a surprise). When I entered school after (I'd done this after my birthday, which is a little over a month before school started ( **3** ), some of the kids would tease me for being a wimp and freaking out after being injected. I told THEM they can have their 'visions' or whatever they call it but MY 'visions' would be clear." I sit up. "And _sober_." I start knitting again. "And, despite everything that's happened, I can honestly say that I have done it in a clear and sober way." You can fault me for everything else, but I consider that a victory.

"(LT): It certainly sounds a lot better than having everything be all wavy like that one painting you told us about that goes waah, waah..." Skipper says, standing up on his hind-fins, stretching out his face with his fins and rocking side to side in an impressive imitation of _The Scream_ ( **4** ) to everyone's amusement.

"I'd never sleep again if THAT happened." Evidently, in some way, this has awakened my friends' interest in my early life and home. For the most part, I think it wasn't that remarkable until Ellie asks, "Did your town have the people in all white? The ones that were pointed?"

"Oh, r-right...um..." I trail off. Joy, somewhere WORSE than the world of illegal drugs!

 _I arrived in the valley a few days after my nineteenth birthday. Near the end of September, I took some of the animals and the Lorax to town (hidden in Melvin's saddlebags!). We rounded a corner towards the town hall and I immediately see someone in all white and hearing things I'd NEVER say or even THINK._

 _"We're going the other direction." I say promptly turning. Melvin obeys but some begin saying that the other way'd take too long. My mood had been squashed by running into the 'event', so I turned and basically towered over them saying rather loudly, "WE'RE GOING THE OTHER DIRECTION." No one complained after that._

Believe it or not, that wasn't my FIRST time running into something like that. About a week prior to that event, I was exploring an edge of town and I ran across Bill and Pipsqueak playing with what looked like an armband of some sort. I went to play with them and that's what was ON the armband. I tore it off Pip and told both of them _Don't you EVER let me catch you with something like this again!_ and they ran off, scared. Feeling satisfied at their reaction, I threw it in the trash. Now, I'd actually forgot about this incident and apparently neither of them brought it up to anyone until Bill happened to come across the symbol again several years later. The two of them told everyone to avoid it like the plague because of how I reacted to it (which, surprisingly, they all _did_ ).

And now nearly forty years later, they wanna know why. I have no idea how to even _start_ on this one...Until it hits me. "Okay," I sit up and stop knitting, "do you remember when I told you about 'food chains' and how they're arranged in colorful pyramids?" The grown-ups nod, some mutter how glad they are to be nearly at the top. But I'm not laughing (or smirking) on this one, and they must've realized that, because they stop.

"If I told you," I say slowly, "that humans used to have charts for arranging each other, what would you say?" Everybody has to think about that. "Hmmm, judging by your relatively calm demeanor, you can't possibly be talking about cannibalism..." Mustache wonders. I try to help them along. "What about me is different from other people?" I get a array of answers on this-my height, my rather skinny physique among them-so I try to help them out a bit by asking a more specific question: "What color is my skin?"

They don't really understand that, so this is going nowhere. "I sigh. "You guys are lucky, because you are animals and really only divide yourselves into who is a predator and who is prey. But when humans divide themselves...That's not good. Here, I have something that will help you understand." I get up and head inside, with the littlest ones following me really close. We go up to my room, and I open a nice wooden trunk at the end of my bed; it has other personal stuff I've found/had for a long time. I haven't looked at this in a few years. I dig through it while my friends find seats around me.

"I once took a tour of a community college when I first got started. I'd wandered around and overheard this lecture-Aha, here it is!" I retrieve a tube and sit on the end of my bed. I open it and slide the rolled up poster out, and then unfurl it. The background paper is a darkish-purple, and there are two pyramids with varying sides of blue going up the levels of them. The poster's heading reads _'THE GREAT CHAIN OF BEING' THEORY_ ( **5** ).

"The Great Chain of Being?" Mustache reads. I nod. "Yep. This was used for centuries to basically explain why people with darker skin were treated badly." I point out the pyramid on the left (my right, because it's facing everyone else), "As you can see, God is at the very top, then there's angels, then humans, all the way down to insects."

Skipper's mate Izzy points at the other one and asks, "So this is the one for humans?" I groan inwardly. "Correct. Now back then, countries were ruled by kings that yes, were white, so they were at the top of the pyramid. After them, there are rich white men, then are POOR white men-"

"(LT): And then there's dark-skinned people?" Willie asks.

"I'm getting there." I say. "After poor white men, there are women-"

"(LT): And THEN there's them?" Charlie asks.

"I'm getting there." I repeat, pointing to the last two at the bottom. "There's children," my voice tightening a bit, "and _then_ there's blacks." My friends are quite stunned and most of them start looking between both pyramids and up and down them. I can tell they know something is wrong with this but they can't quite figure it out. Mustache points at my poster slightly and says, "Something ain't right."

"There is. It's the _whole thing_ that's not right." I re-roll the poster and slide it back in the tube. "When theories like this are made, it is essentially an excuse to treat someone else as someone-or something-whose _lesser_ than you. That means bad housing, menial jobs, menial pay for said jobs, little or no basic rights such as voting, rules when walking down the street-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down!" Mustache cuts in. "All of this stuff sounds illegal." I shake my head.

"Oh no, it was very much legal. Remember that story about those yellow bird-like creatures that lived on the beach? ( **6** ) That was very similar to what I saw growing up, one group had one thing, the other got the next. We were _segregated_ , that's the term for keeping groups in one area where they live apart, but not together."

"(LT): But you don't anymore?" Binnie asks. "I didn't really know this growing up but there were many who tried to push for equal rights. One story I'm particularly fond involved help from Superman." Everyone knows who and what Superman is, so they clamor for that story. Did he hop out of the comic books? Was he really made of steel? Did he REALLY get weaker when exposed to those 'glowing rocks'? "No, he didn't jump outta the comics books,"-everyone groans-"but the particular radio episode DID jump out to a lot of people because of where they got the material. No group would be dumb enough to give away their secrets and it's not like the station can just make things up."

"(LT): So how'd they get it?" Bobbie asks.

 _A man who had the last of Kennedy-NOT related to the president, I think-went undercover and pretended to be a group member. He detested groups like that ever since a maid his family had was beaten up years ago when he was a little kid. As he grew up, he really wanted to stick it to them but didn't know how...until he thought of using Superman as a way to expose to everyone (especially children) how ridiculous a group like them really are._

"It was REALLY dangerous, he was actually almost caught once. Thankfully, he managed to get back home with enough material, and that's where we get the episode 'The Clan of the Fiery Cross'( **7** ). Now, I wasn't around for the first broadcast and neither were Brett or Chet, but one of my relatives sent a copy of it to us and we played it." I smile. "In fact, one time we were playing after listening to it, and the twins got into a fight over who got to be Superman this time around. I said neither of them could play Superman because they look waaay too much alike and we couldn't have two Supermans at once." So I got to be Superman, running after my brothers and hitting them with pillows wearing a small red cape. Oddly, none of the adults objected when we were running around the house playing that game. I don't think I've relayed this to anyone yet but out of everyone in my immediate family, I miss my brothers the most. Well, and Melvin, of course!

And speaking of immediate family, this brings up a few other topics about the inner workings of my family, including whether they were mean to people with different skin colors. "Oh, no, no." I shake my head. "My family treated _everyone_ that way-black, white, Asian, didn't matter. They really didn't seem to tolerate discrimination-which is actively working against a certain group of people in anything-and one time, my mother said 'Oncie, your invention sounds foolish. But if you somehow manage to build a business, you'd be a bigger fool if you didn't hire _equally_ '." That stunned my friends, especially Mustache, and it seems like a half hour before he manages to talk again.

"Your mother said THAT?!" I can't help but giggle a bit. "Yes, my mom and everyone certainly did have their quirks..." I trail off as another memory comes to mind.

"(LT): What's up?" Filly asks.

"Well. Talking about my mom has made me remember something...rather odd. I heard of how fast Thneeds were sold but even so, it was still nearly a year before we could hire drivers and such..."

 _One time, my mom and Aunt Grizelda drove out to the post office, to ship some out and presumably to look around town a bit. They were gone for longer than I expected and when Mom DID come back, she grabs me by my lapels and starts shaking me saying 'Don't send us back there! Ever!' and then ran out of the room. My brothers were outside and peeked in afterwards and it was several minutes before I could move or even THINK properly again. There was no way I was gonna get anything out of my mom and I didn't even bother trying with my aunt, Brett and Chet were as clueless about it as I was, so the only option was to go to my uncle._

"What he'd say?" Mustache is shaking like a little kid does with excitement. At the same time, a few little ones' stomachs start gurgling. They're hungry so I ask them to go get some snacks downstairs which is good for two reasons: One) the rest of us want snacks, and two) this next part isn't something the nine youngest should hear. Yet. When they go out, I slowly shut the door behind them and I'm guessing this gives it away.

"Um, should I-" Mustache begins but I cut him off. "No. I'd tell you eventually." I press my back against the door and take a deep breath before continuing. "I've...done some pretty awful things, and not just the things that happened to you all specifically. One time, I was looking for a necklace (I think) or something else and I was looking in my uncle and aunt's room. And I found something sticking out of one of my uncle's bags." They look at me expectantly, wondering how this relates to what scared Mom and Aunt Grizelda. "What I found was a," I blush, "a pair of panties. They were navy blue with black lace on the edges. Now, they were too big for my mother yet they were WAY too small for my aunt-" Charlie cuts me off with the rest. "(LT): Your uncle was having an AFFAIR?" At this, everyone ELSE blushes.

I shrug my shoulders. "I wouldn't know. I don't even know if he really WAS or not, I just told him any 'run-ins' he was having had to stop at once or...or I would out him to my aunt." I turn to open the door. "And believe me, no matter where you were in forest, you would have heard every single word of _that_ conversation." Before anyone can comment on this, I open the bedroom door and the nine little ones come back baring snacks. They didn't seem to be concerned that they missed something although they were wondering what my mom and aunt could have possibly run into at the post office that would scare them so badly.

"I hate ta admit this, but those two seemed fearless and wouldn't put up with any nonsense." Mustache says and then he gets an idea. "Ooh, I know! Maybe they saw something that scared them when they were little! Did they ever see any scary movies growin' up?"

I look down and ring my hands a bit. "No. I don't really know." I look up again. "I know this is gonna bug you, but I really don't much about my own family. Uncle Ubb, I never got around to. My mom and aunt, well...They never opened out in great detail but from what I have gathered, their childhood wasn't very good. From what I learned, both sisters were passed from one relative to another, they never stayed in one area for more than two years. This could either mean their grandparents died early on, they divorced (which was looked down on back then), or they, were abandoned."

"That...might explain a few things." The Lorax says quietly.

"There's more, though." I grab the tube again and hold it across from me. "Picture one of those family tree charts I told you about and my IMMEDIATE family below it. Above this line," I say referring to the tube, "there's nothing. Zilch. And there's no one we can-or could-think of to help us fill them in. The only one that seems to sound plausible is this." I put my right hand up a little ways above the tube. "I've been told that I had a great-grandmother who came from overseas and passed through Ellis Island at the turn of the century. But those aren't the MOST mysterious parts." I go around to my bedside table where there is several photos, some of me and my family, some with Rika, and some with Ted and Audrey. But none have seen the small photo in the black circle frame. I pick it up gingerly and bring it back to the end of my bed before handing to Mustache to pass it around.

"I never showed this to you. Be careful with it." The photo is of a young girl, probably between eight and twelve, wearing with looks like a hood that tied to her neck with a bow. She's giving a slightly mischievous look to the camera. "Awww, she's kinda cute," Mustache says, "and she kinda looks like you! Do you know who she is?"

"No, but I-and my brothers-gave her one. We call her 'The Jammer'. You see, we found her picture in the attic of our house when we were in grade school. The three of us weren't actually allowed up there and when we found her, we had to keep it a secret or Mom and the others would find out. I saw the back of the photo years ago and much of it was faded but I could still see the letters J, A, M, R, and the year 1919. That's how we got 'The Jammer'. Unfortunately, one day, we were overheard talking about her and Mom, Grizelda, and Ubb wanted to know. When we showed them her picture, Mom told us she MIGHT be a great-grandmother but she didn't know. What she DID know was that we should refer to her as 'something else that doesn't sound like an innuendo.' So from that day on, we called her 'Jasmine' instead."

When the photo makes its round, I put her back. "I cried when I found she was left out here. She was important to us somehow, whichever side of my family she comes from. But this mystery doesn't hold a candle to Miriam." With that, I start knitting again, even though everyone is expecting me to talk more. I'm not being rude, I'm waiting for everyone to get it. It's not until the Lorax goes "Well, are ya gonna tell us or do we have ta guess?!" I look up and raise an eyebrow. Everyone seems to be getting it, because Pipsqueak says "(LT): You don't know who Miriam is...?"

I nod. "Mm-hm. And there's not one member of my family-immediate or otherwise-that knows otherwise. Growing up, I've heard that name and its specific spelling thrown around like confetti. No one knows who Miriam, when she was born, what color her hair is, how old is she, which side does she come from, or, or, the biggest kicker of them all-"

"Does Miriam really exist." Mustache finishes.

"Bingo. There's not one mention of any Miriam in my family, not for lack of trying to find out, though. I was planning on making this a family-business and most famous family-businesses sometimes give out information about their past. So I had all my relatives send any and everything they could that would help me to found out-and I was gonna be the one to unravel the mystery. From 9:30 to nearly two in the morning I spent looking through old flies and photos, but no luck. I found a Myriam, but I knew that wasn't her. For one, her name was spelled differently, and she was alive at the time. I got the implication that the Miriam we were talking about had died. Whoever she is, wherever she comes from, we'll probably never know."

Before I know it, the time has come for everyone to leave. A few, like Pipsqueak, are still surprised by knowing all this stuff about my family that they didn't expect. They were also still thinking about Miriam in particular. I smile. "When you have a big or family that's famous-or infamous-you sometimes get a lot of strange stories coming out of them. Don't be too upset if it turns out someone just misheard something. It's more than likely that happened here, although I admit, I would kinda happy if one of those stories was true."

* * *

 **Whew, I bet you thought that chapter was never gonna end, right? (Sorry if it was too long...).**

 **#1: I'm planning to make the other side of town based off an area back east that I used to live in as a child. It has apple trees, but it also has several berries as well. You'll have to stretch your imagination to envision the animals now feasting on apples and berries and stuff!**

 **#2: Doing a large amount of cocaine can lead to paranoia. Bottom line: Don't do drugs!**

 **#3: There are some who put the Once-ler's birthday as being on 'Earth Day' but here, he was born in late July. For more, see below!**

 **#4: A series of four prints first created in 1893 by Edvard Munch.**

 **#5: 'The Great Chain of Being' is a big, hierarchical structure of life as it was believed to be made by God. I first learned about this when I was taking a class on African-American Literature and here's how it was shown (first generally, and then by race):**

 **God-Angels-Humans-Beasts-Fowls-Insects**

 **Under Humans= Kings-Rich White Men-Poor White Men-Women-Children-African-Americans**

 **See the problem?**

 **#6: Referring to Dr. Seuss's 'The Sneetches', first published in 1953.**

 **#7: 'The Clan of the Fiery Cross' is an episode of the Superman radio series. This episode was first broadcast June 10th-July 1st, 1946 (Big thanks to the Superman Homepage website!). And if you ever wanted to see the story of how it came to be, I would highly recommend the documentary _How Superman Defeated the KKK_ , which you can see on the Military/American Heroes Channel if you have it on TV. **

**As the Once-ler said, he and his brothers weren't around for the broadcast. His brothers are born in 1947 and are two-years-old when he's born in 1949.**

 **I hope you like how I'm making the Once-ler and his family a mix of contradictions. And I hope you like the Once-ler's last line here, I got it from a chapter of _The Seventh Child_ by Brooks Stanwood. **

**Sooooo, is anyone anxious to know who/what scared Oncie's mom and aunt? To know who 'Jasmine-ler' is? Or found if the enigmatic Miriam truly exists?**

 **All this and more! Staaaaay tuned...**


	8. Rika

Chapter Eight: Rika

MONTAGE: _Ted and Gona sit at lunch, while Gona talks rather animatedly. Dissolves to Ted, Gona, and Audrey doing homework, Gona spotting a game in Ted's house, Ted and Billy being shocked at Gona entering class in a partial Army dress uniform. Ted driving his scooter up to the Once-ler's house, before ending on the calendar. It reads March 3_ _rd_ _, 2013._

*Ted's POV*

A month has now gone by since my lunch money was rescued by Gona. And in that time, I've noticed a 180-degree difference in her personality. She's no longer as dour-looking, she always greets me whenever we start school, and we sit together at lunch every day. In said time, I've learned she likes soccer, she enjoys watching little kids, and her favorite video games are 'Super Smash Brothers Melee' and 'Mario Kart Wii' (which I have, so I made sure to tell her that!). I hope I don't sound rude, but I also think she's a bit of a glutton.

But that's not the most surprising thing I learned about her.

"She wants to join the Army?" the Once-ler asks.

"Yep," I say, "she's been in the JROTC ( **1** ) since seventh grade and used to be on their rifle team. She's already reached of Captain and leads her group whenever they go in formation."

"And is apparently strong enough to whack someone with a backpack." The Once-ler says with a smirk.

"She said that was pure luck." I giggle.

"She sounds like a swell girl, Ted. You'll have to bring her out here so I can meet her sometime."

 _Rats!_ I think as I'm trying to hide the disappointment and annoyance in my face. Unfortunately, Mr. Once-ler catches it. I've noticed that when I try to hide something, he gets this raised-eyebrow look that reminds me of Aragorn from _The Two Towers_ ( **2** ). Plus he also drums his fingers, which I find creepy. _Well, Ted,_ his face seems to be saying, _is there anything ELSE you wanna tell me?_

Before I can stop myself, I start telling him about one thing I know about Gona that I'm not super happy about.

"I was about to send her off when she came to my house. I was talking about our weekend plans and I mentioned that I was coming here."

 _I told her she should come with me sometime. But she got this hard look on her face and said "I'm not allowed out that far."_

"And you don't believe that?"

"Of course I don't!" I say a little louder than I mean to. This is actually a really sore subject with me and I've gotten into a few scraps because of it. I mean, Mr. Once-ler has been out here all alone, suffering, and trying to-

" _Ted_." The firm tone snaps me back to reality, but he doesn't sound too angry. He sighs and looks me right in the eye.

"There's always going to be people who won't forgive me, and I can't blame them for that. I can't go back in time and change that, but don't give them a reason to dislike _you_. That will get you nowhere. Just because Gona might not seem too pleased doesn't mean she herself hates me, she's your age, she MIGHT just going off what her parents have said. Besides, what _I_ care about is whether she is being a good friend to you and to Audrey."

I have to admit, Mr. Once-ler does make a good point. I haven't even considered her _parents'_ point of view- in fact, I actually don't know what her parents look like. Wait, that's not entirely true. I saw her talking to someone who I thought was her mom. But then again, it might've been her sister. Hard to tell, because I was a distance away and the woman in question had her back to me. As for her being a friend...well, I know I've just started getting to know her but she hasn't given me any reason to doubt thus far (even if she doesn't like Mr. Once-ler).

So I let the matter drop. Besides, I didn't come here today to complain. Mr. Once-ler needs some help taking down and packing this painting above his bed. I've never been in his room until today. When we first enter, the first thing my eyes notice is how much space his bed takes up. It takes up most of his room leaving a narrow path between it and the vanity he has. At the very edge of the room is a desk by the window. ( **3** ) I'm sure he's been sitting there for most of his time out here.

Once we're in, he crawls up on his bed and slowly gets to his feet, letting out a breath once he steadies himself. When he does so, he lifts up the painting (which is apparently a view out the window of a shipyard. There are also flower vases on the window sill) ( **4** ) and hands it down to me. It's kinda heavy so I totter a bit before steadying myself and hand him the hammer to get the nails out of the wall. As I do, I catch a glance at all the photos he has on his right bedside table.

They're from Mr. Once-ler's younger days- one is him with his mule Melvin, the other is with his immediate family (BEFORE they started chopping trees down), one looks like a preteen Once-ler with his brothers. There's a photo of him with a small brown bar-ba-loot, Melvin, and an orange creature I'm 99% sure is the Lorax. I get a little closer to see behind them (as they look a little fragile) and notice the picture in the back. In the photo, the Once-ler is about to cut a ribbon -probably to his first factory- and on his immediate left (which would be his right) is a woman with light brown hair and brown eyes. What really strikes me is that she's wearing this white coat that resembles something a doctor or a scientist would wear. Plus she's pretty tall. Heck, I think she's _as tall_ as Mr. Once-ler.

"Who is this woman?" I ask.

"What woman?" He replies although it comes out gurgled because he's holding the nails in his mouth. When he takes them out of his mouth, he lowers himself to get off but not before looking closer. He only glances at it for a sec or two before proceeding to sit down on the bed a little better. "That's Rika." he says as he comes down.

"Who is she? Was she one of your secretaries?"

"Oh, gosh, no!" He sounds surprised. "She'd go crazy with boredom if I made her my secretary. No, Rika wasn't my secretary- she was a _scientist_."

 _So THAT'S why she has the white coat..._ "A _scientist_? _Her_? Back then-?" That's so hard to believe! Obviously, there's more story behind this so we head back down stairs. I still have a little time before I need to head back home for dinner. When we sit back down, the Once-ler begins.

"Rika was my first employee- or um,rather, my first employee who wasn't a blood relative. I had met her before Thneeds became popular, and it was almost a year before we...started chopping down trees. I'd spent almost a year trying to sell one and after heading back to my tent, that's when she showed up..."

*The (Past!) Once-ler's POV*

 _(Late June, 1969. Just after two in the_ _afternoon)_

I walk back towards the tent in disappointment. Yet another day has gone by without me selling my Thneed, or even getting someone to be mildly _interested_ in it. So far all I've gotten is food thrown at me. Nearly a year has gone by with no success and I'm starting to wonder if I should move on to another part of town, to a different town entirely, or give up. At that last thought, I shake my head to clear it. I am NOT going home empty handed! I WILL find someone to buy my Thneed! And even if I can just SHOW it and people still don't buy it anyway, I'd still consider that a victory.

I feel Melvin brushing up against my leg, he's been trying to lick all the tomato paste off me for the walk back. "Melvin, don't. You're part horse, remember? Tomatoes are bad for horses! Come on, I'll get you a special treat that you CAN eat." ( **5** ) I glance around the area. I keep getting a feeling someone's watching me. Mustache, probably. Probably making sure I don't cut down any more trees like he said he would, but this feels...different somehow.

 _Ick, now I'm just creepin' myself out! Hang in there, man, it's a big forest and you're off your beaten path a bit. It's messin' with ya!_ I think as I go inside for Melvin's food I'd bought passing through another town. I turn around, and-

"Greetings, fellow Homo sapiens!" ( **6** )

I yelp in surprise and fall back a bit as I nearly run smack dab into a girl. Or rather, her...torso? As my shock wears down and I get to my feet (I'd fallen on my butt but thankfully landed on a chest), I see this girl is leaning in from the tent's window so she has one end in and the other end out. Now that I get a better non-frightened view of her, I see she has lightish brown eyes and hair, tied up in a ponytail. The whole time I get up and dust myself off, she's talking. Fast.

"You're the tall, lanky guy who's been out in the park every day trying to sell your invention. Although I wish you chose a better name for it- it sounds so much like _tweed_ , people might be confused. And my gosh, you ARE lanky, are you eating well?"

She has also gotten out of her, er, position and to my...amazement, I find she is almost MY height. Maybe only a inch or so shorter! I've had yet to run into a woman outside my family who's around my height.

THEN she sticks her face close to mine. _Whoa, whoa, awkward! Totally awkward! Hasn't she ever heard of privacy?!_

*The (Present!) Once-ler's POV*

Poor Ted. He looks so creeped out at how close the proximity our faces are at. "Now," I say, "what is the first word that comes into your head?"

" _Weird!"_ Ted says with emphasis and then turns red, embarrassed at how impolite that sounds. I laugh and move away from him.

"That's the EXACT SAME reaction I had! 'This girl is so WEIRD!' was my thought, though I never said that out loud. When she got right up in my face, I saw that her teeth had...an unusual shape. Not fangs, per say. They all looked like shark's teeth, or maybe a wolf or wild cat's. Either way, they resembled some sort of animal's."

"But how did she get in without you hearing?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. After she nearly made me cross-eyed..."

*The (Past!) Once-ler's POV*

"Hmmmm." She says, adjusting her glasses and looking me up and down. "You have a slight sun tan, so you're obviously getting Vitamin D, perhaps too much if you stay out too much longer." She then **starts feeling my arm**. "Good grief! You're as skinny as a twig! You're not eating enough fat-"

I'd stop paying attention after she touched my arm. " _Please,_ lady!" I half-shout, grabbing her shoulders to make her STOP TALKING. She does and just blinks with a slightly confused expression. In a flash, I realize how uncomfortable this looks and let go of her.

"I'm happy you care how I take care of my body, but I think I just missed the whole part where I got your name and _where I invited you in_?"

She blinks again and looks more confused. "But I WAS invited in, by your _Equus mulus_ ( **7** )."

Huh? "My what?"

"Your _Equus mulus_." At my blank stare, she points out the window, "Your pet mule."

I look outside. Melvin, who's eating, looks back at me with the typical look he almost always has. I narrow and roll my eyes at him, thinking _Thanks a lot, Melvin!_

"Right..." I say, "And your name would be?" She looks surprised and then face-palms herself.

"Oh, duh! I just loose all sense when it comes to observations! My name is Rika." _Okay, NOW we're getting somewhere_.

"I heard you were starting a company-"my ears immediately shoot up- "and I know you're gonna need help to see how these things can work-"

So she came for a JOB? Wow, this is better than I expected! Wait, what does she mean by 'how these things can work'? "What do you mean by that? You mean studying?"

"Yes, indeed! That's one of the main components of being a scientist!" She's so enthusiastic, how am I supposed to break it to her that I don't actually have a company up and running...yet?

"I-" _Oh, boy,_ "I appreciate your offer, Rika, but I'm not hiring right now." _She doesn't need to know I haven't even gotten any INTEREST in it yet_.

"Oh..." Her face falls a bit. "That's too bad. I guess I spoke too soon, considering all you've gotten is food thrown at you." REALLY?

"Don't worry. I will get my company started and when I do, I'll remember you." I pat her shoulder and her eyes widen slightly.

"Thank you. I'll be around here for a bit anyway. Um...where's the door?" Oh. Right, she came in through my window. I point the door out and she bids me farewell. I stare at the shut door for awhile before heading out. "That was weird..." I mutter to myself.

*The (Present!) Once-ler's POV*

"It's getting late, Ted, you should get going." Ted looks so disappointed. He was obviously totally engrossed in the story.

"Bummer..." he mutters. I smile.

"Don't worry, there'll be plenty of time to hear more later on."

I lead him to the door. Ted's putting on his helmet when he suddenly says "Oh, so THAT'S why!"

"What's why?"

"Do you remember when I told you that I thought Gona looked familiar somehow?"

"Did you figure it out?"

"Yeah! If you whack off most of her hair, she looks like a shorter, brown-eyed female version of you."

My eyes widen, but NOT from delight. "R-really?" I almost can't get my voice out.

"Uh-huh, and I could not figure out where until I saw those photos of you when you were younger. Well, I'll see you later, Mr. Once-ler!" He heads off and I watch him drive off. When I shut the door, I don't take my hand off the handle. A shudder goes through me.

 _You shouldn't have done that, Sticks._ I turn around to see the somewhat translucent but IMAGINARY figure of Rika sitting at the bottom of my stairs, looking at me with a sad sort of look.

"I had to."

 _You know you can't keep this up forever_.

"I know THAT, it's-" I look away and my gaze lands on the red album on the kitchen table. I let out a breath. "It's just not time yet. Even you don't want..." My voice trails off. She looks like she agrees but still has doubt.

 _I know_. She disappears as I head up the stairs. Then I remember the album and head back downstairs to get it. Before I head up again, I turn to one of the photos in there. I look at the balling face on it. I really have to keep my emotions down otherwise I'll truly fall apart.

 _I'm sorry, little one_. I think as I -very carefully- put the photo away. _But it's not time yet_. **  
**

 **HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope all of you had happy holidays! And now that my desk and stuff is (relatively) set up, I'll be able to write more. I truly appreciate your patience with me :D**

 **#1: JROTC stands for Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps. It is in high schools and in some middle schools, and they have activities like a Rifle Team. They have units for each military. Check out their website (and Wikipedia page) sometime for more information!**

 **#2: The scene Ted is talking about is in _The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers_ , where Aragorn is waiting for Gimli to tell him to toss him. Right before Aragorn does, Gimli says 'Don't tell the elf!'. XD **

**#3: Imagine that you're standing in the Once-ler's bedroom door. The bed takes up most of the room and it's coming out from the right wall. There's a window on the left wall and at the far end, there's a desk under the window. That's what I envision the Once-ler's room to be.**

 **#4: The painting above The Once-ler's bed is called _View from the Artist's Window_. It was done in 1825 by Danish Romantic painter ****Martinus Rorbye.**

 **#5: NEVER FEED A HORSE TOMATOES OR PEPPERS. They are toxic to them! :O I don't think mules can eat them either, because they ARE part horse (if I'm wrong, please tell me!). Info found on animals . mom . me.**

 **#6: The scientific name for modern humans! Fun fact: Our Conversation Status is slated as 'Least Concern'. XD**

 **#7: This is the closet scientific name I could find for mules. Is there any others that I'm missing?  
**

 **I hope you've enjoyed the Once-ler's first encounter with Rika! She's based off an manga/anime character who's ALSO a scientist.  
**

 **I hope I've gotten across how Ted and Audrey are becoming friends with Gona and how Ted is willing to reach out to her, even if she and him disagree about the Once-ler. To sign off, I shall end with a quote from Martin Luther King Jr. (whose birthday is tomorrow) about friendship.**

 **"Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into friend." -MLK, Jr.**


	9. The Rumor Mill and 'The Green 13'

**This chapter wasn't supposed to exist, but I forgot to mention something from the last chapter. Oh, well, you get more to read! And any language other than English is going to be italicized, bolded, and marked, so watch for that!  
**

Chapter Nine: The Rumor Mill and 'The Green 13'

( _The next day, March 4_ _th_ _, a little after two_ )

*The Once-ler's POV*

I sit on one of the tree stumps, rekniting a section of the large blanket I made for the little ones. The Lorax has told me after the animals got back to their homes they gave the little ones a talk on how they could USE the blanket…..and then Lou accidentally went and ripped it. I laugh as Mustache describes it from his stump a few steps away.

"Boy, was he _mad_! But now I think he finds it funny."

"Lou, angry?" That I find surprising!

Mustache agrees. "Big time. You know things are bad when Lou is angry, he's one of the most sensible and calmest bar-ba-loot I've come across in a long time."

The animals, I've been told, are currently in deep discussion as to who will try out the 'new trees' as a temporary home until the Truffulas grow just a tiny bit bigger. I suspect it will be the Swomee-Swans, though. Oh, and speaking of Truffula trees, the ones around my house have grown considerably and I've seen signs of fruit growing in.

Yes, friends, you heard that right! The trees _**are growing fruit now**_. All in the space of nearly a YEAR. And if we're _lucky_ , they'll grow big enough so more of the animals can move out here and be closer to me, which I'm sure they will find MUCH better than having to walk all the way over here for nearly half a day.

Even The Lorax is surprised at how fast the trees are coming in. "It's so strange, even the fastest-growing ones weren't this fast."

"I bet I know who would know the answer to this."

"Rika?"

"You got it."

"Ohhhh, yeah." He goes on his back with his hands behind his head (the stump he's on is big enough for him to do that). "I wonder whatever became of her. Do you know?"

"No," I shake my head, "I don't. We DID stay in contact for a short time after…what happened. That stopped when I came out here."

 _Brilliant maneuver, Once-ler,_ my inner voice is bugging me again with its sarcasm (although, yes, that is my fault).

 _Shut. Up. Voice. Mustache is talking!_ Which is true.

"I still remember when I first met her." He smiles.

I giggle a bit. "Yeah, I remember your first meeting too."

 _The day after I met her, you came running in my tent, waving your arms and crying 'Bean-Pole! Bean-Pole! There's this-'_

 _'Strange girl who has no sense of personal space?' He looks so...stunned that I know this that he can only nod and go 'YEAH?'. I can't help but laugh. 'That's just Rika, I think she's staying here for a bit. She may not know what personal space is, but I think she's harmless.'_

 _He sniffs a bit before turning to leave. 'Yeah, HARMLESS, he says...' he mutters as his hips twitch a little._

Huh. You know, now that I'm thinking of that, I realize I've never actually asked Mustache why he did that. "Um, what did she do exactly?"

"She pulled out some hair...and not on a particular area I'd rather discuss!" _Oh my gosh_ , I blush a little.

"It's kinda too bad," he continues without noticing, "I was hoping she'd still be here or come back here and see us and you."

"Yeah..." I look down at my knitting. I don't really wanna talk about her anymore right now so before The Lorax can comment on my downcast response, I bring up something else that I forgot to tell him (and all the animals).

"It turns out I missed a part of my family tree- that's a possibility that one of them came from overseas. That's...one of the main reasons I always wanted to go visit New York."

"How's New York so important?"

I glance up and see the way Mustache is looking at me. Ah, right- I keep forgetting he really doesn't know much outside the forest!

"To a farm kid growing up with not much of anything, New York is the big time. Kinda of like Hollywood, but without all the movie sets. It has Broadway musicals, _tons_ of shops, and many historic landmarks."

He sits up, very interested now. "Did you ever go? Was it like that?"

I grimace a bit, the memory is still kinda bittersweet. "Only once did I ever go there and it was for only a few nights, so I didn't go exploring as much as I probably could have. I went to see the opening of the musical _Gigi_ ( **1** )."

I sigh. "But I didn't get to see what I was _really_ after. And by the time I _could have_ , it was too late."

The Lorax raises an eyebrow. "What were you really after?"

"There were two things, actually, but they could be found in the same place. Ever since I was a little boy, I've wanted to go see the Statue of Liberty and travel to the very top of it, which would technically be her torch but it was only when I was in high school did I learn that area's been shut down since 1918 after an explosion caused by German spies in World War One ( **2** )."

"Can you still go see?"

"Oh, sure. You can go up to her head, but that's as far as you're allowed. No one has been allowed in the torch since then."

"And with all those bomb people running around, I doubt they're gonna let you."

"Yeah...BUT the other place is still available, and you don't even have to go very far."

"What is it?"

"Ellis Island. To be even more specific, its museum." I can tell by the look on The Lorax's face that he's a little lost, looks like a history lesson is in order. "Do you remember when I told you this country is a 'nation of immigrants'?"

"Yeah..."

"Before any of them ever set foot on the mainland, they had to pass through either Angel Island or Ellis Island, depending on which coast they came to. Ellis Island is on this side of the nation, right near the Statue of Liberty..." I trail off a bit, slowing my knitting down a bit.

"And I'm betting one of your relatives came through there and THAT'S why you wanna go there." He nods knowingly.

 _Dang, he's good!_ Mustache is quite quick on the uptake. And since he seems to get the basic point down, I explain more. "Yes, it was-and still is. Before I went to bed on the day I told you all about my childhood, I remember something I was told about...my dad's family. One of his ancestors entered Ellis Island sometime before the turn of the century. Who that is, I'm not sure, but I wouldn't be surprised if I found someone _else_ from my family there. A lot of them come from Eastern Europe."

I return to my knitting. " ** _Ich frage mich, ob einer von ihnen aus Gewirken_**...( **3** )" My hand flies to my mouth and my eyes as I realize how I just said that. Mustache is looking at me with a...baffled look.

"What?"

"What?! You just said something completely incomprehensible! It sounded like you were speaking gobbly-gook!"

I can't help almost laughing at his (unfortunate) ignorance. "It's not gobbly-gook, Mustache, I was speaking in German." _I must've forgot to tell him._

His eyes narrow and he speaks slowly. "You make a whole other language?"

I nod. "Yep. Most of my family's ancestors come from there." I shake my head in slight disbelief. "Don't ask me why my mom did this, but after my dad _left_ , she insisted we learn the language. 'To put us more in touch with our routes' she'd say. Well, it worked-all three of us learned it. Sometimes, my brothers would joke with people and put it in their speech but more than not, they got beat up for that."

"But you still speak it?"

" ** _Wie ein Einheimischer_** ( **4** )." He giggles happily.

"Your family seems like it was BUILT on rumors, if you don't mind me sayin'."

"No need." I wave dismissively. "It's because none of us have a whole lot of official documentation. When I was searching for Miriam, all I had were birth records and family trees made by individual sections of the family. We had photos of some people, though, but some aren't named, like Jasmine was."

"Ohhhh, I get it. Because you have so many different and spread-out family members, there's no one accurate account. On anything." He flops on his back again. "I wish _I_ had a big family like yours. With all those stories, even if they just rumors...That'd be a lot more fun than describing days that are revolving around eating and growing, and all other nature stuff..."

Really? "Mustache, you're THE LORAX." I'm a bit in disbelief, can you tell?

"Yeah, well, gettin' to be _The Lorax_ can get pretty boring after a while. Stuck in one area, with the same types of plants and animals, all year round. The only other time I left the safety of this valley is sometime, sometime, sometime in the 1800s...I think. Times and dates blend blended together before you came."

When he says 'the only other time', I sit up straight, alert. Because lemme tell you something: Just like secrets, Mustache rarely-if ever!-goes into full detail on his life BEFORE my arrival here. So if you ever see this opportunity, you _take_ it, because I can guarantee you, it may not ever come up again!

Although I'll admit, curiosity doesn't mean you can't be nervous. "Where do you go, exactly...?"

"To the library."

"You went to a library...?" I ask slowly.

Oblivious to my confusion, Mustache starts his story.

 _It was the town was really starting to grow, but there still some fairly out-of-the-way buildings. The library was a real small brick building with what looked like a church's roof on the front. Every once in awhile, I'd see and hear people in there and some were with kids, talking about reading...  
_

"Oh, no, don't tell me..." I say in a slightly dramatic, "You actually _went in_?!" He nods and my jaw drops.

"In there?! In front of all those people?!" I really don't know why, but I've had this weird feeling about too many humans seeing The Lorax. Maybe it's because I'm secretly jealous they'd be better friends with him, or maybe it's because when ever too people know about something magical, it'll end up being abused somehow and eventually calamity will follow due to that.

Er, whoa, pardon me. That was my imagination talking. Must be all the talking about books.

"Oh, relax!" Mustache is saying, "It's not like I went there in broad daylight! I went at night, or on Sundays when it was closed. I'd take some of the books written for kids just starting out and try them out myself."

"You stole them?" I joke. "Mustache, I'm surprised at you!" He waves me off. "What did you take?"

"This interesting series of books called 'phonics' ( **5** ). It was years later before I found out it's used for teaching someone how to read...and write. Which I also did. Writing was _considerably_ easier for me, although it took two months to figure out and remember how to hold a pencil!"

"But how did you get into the library?" His face brightens with excitement.

"Oh, it was awesome! On the left side of the front doors, there was this metal square thing that opened up and an extremely tiny slide into a box. I was able to use that thing for years..."

 _Hee, only Mustache could find a book return an exciting 'entrance' way,_ my inner voice says. _Think I should tell him?_

 _Nah...Unless..._

"Hey, Mustache?" I ask a bit quieter. He stops daydreaming and looks up at me. "Did you ever hear of any rumors about this town? Like...whether there was a group of spies?"

" _Spies?_ Here? What makes you ask that?"

"Recent declassifying, that's what. They say during the Second World War, a group of thirteen spies were stationed right here in Thneedville- er, I mean Greenville."

His eyes are now as wide as dinner plates (Have you ever seen him that way? It's really freaky!). "No! No, I haven't!" He jumps off, runs to my legs, and bounces like a little kid going, "Tell me! Tell me!".

So I explain the best I can, or at least what Ted and Audrey (whom I first learned it from) have learned in their history classes: During the Second World War, thirteen people from different military branches were recruited into this little spy network, and their first station was right here in town, and since I wasn't around with my Thneed, they were called 'The Green Thirteen'. But what is really shocking was that all thirteen were WOMEN.

"There was this photo taken of all of them in front of the old town hall. I haven't seen it yet, but I heard each of them look like they could kick butt."

"Whoa..." The Lorax leans against my leg, looking out to the hills beyond. "I...see. I've never heard of them. I take it you haven't either?"

"Nope, not even back then," I say finishing the last parts of my knitting. "I never heard of any wartime spies here. Let's face it, Mustache: We're not exactly in a particularly 'normal' out-of-the-way town in America." He groans but I know he agrees.

"You bet. Truffulas are so... _different_ _,_ they stick out like sore thumbs! The people in charge of those ladies would have to be nutty ta send them here if they needed to hide or, or, or whatever else spies do."

"It must have really been something, otherwise it wouldn't have been classified for so long." The nighttime Ted and Audrey told me of them, I racked my head, trying to remember something, anything regarding the town during wartime. But the only thing I could come up with is this medium-sized statue of an old-fashioned Army jeep (I think) and another of two women (one from the Red Cross) carrying an injured man on an stretcher. The plaque for these is a longish rectangle on the ground. It has thirty-three little black stars and above those reads: _TRANSPORT & HEALING - THE **REAL** BACKBONE OF SERVICE_. The reason I know this so well? I went to its unveiling on Memorial Day back in 1972.

When The Lorax first told me that none of them went very far from this place, I asked how they knew what far was without any trees. There were a few things they would use as landmarks and this was one of them.

All this talk of rumors made me think of myself and, well, if they heard anything about me after they left.

"Oh, yes. Plenty." The Lorax responds, I can't tell if he's annoyed by that or not. "It took us all of two days to realize we weren't gonna get away that easily."

 _We were at a gas station in a very wooded area (not our kinds of trees, of course, but they did okay). You're probably not gonna be too surprised but none of them were very happy. Pipsqueak said he would rather never hear of you ever again for as long as he lived...and then we heard mention of you over the radio inside. They had their front doors open, you see._

"Um...what did it say?"

"Only that you had 'walked out', whatever that means. There were others as well over the years."

"I know I'm gonna regret this, but can you remember any?"

"Oh, you bet!" He gets this look like 'I'm-gonna-mention-the-most-craziest-ones-and-see-your-reaction'. "One was that you had really long hair, and kept it tied up in a ponytail and that's why your hat was so tall."

Alright, that _is_ funny.

"About a little over a decade after you left town, we started hearing these weird things from kids in the area. That you are an spider-human, and I guess they got that from your long arms. OR that you were guarding this treasure trove, although what that treasure IS, no one said."

"I think I'd RATHER be a spider-human. It sure would've saved me the trouble of having to walk all the way out to the wall for supplies."

"Ooooooh, but that's nowhere CLOSE to what one person said."

"And what would that be?"

"That you have a kid out there somewhere." _Huh?! WHAT?!_

"Did you get that out of a tabloid magazine? They're all just gossip, ya know."

"Yeah, yeah," he says, standing up. It's getting to be dinnertime and he has to get back to the animals now. "But still, I liked the thought of you having a kid..."

"Me too." I glance down. It's too late for that stuff now. "Ted and Audrey keep me busy enough."

"Heh, yeah, that's true."

We share good-byes and Mustache hops back into a tree stump. Once I'm SURE he's gone, I slam my front door shut and slowly sink to the floor. I squeeze the red album harder to my chest.

 _Great. Just great. First Ted, now Mustache! What am I gonna do?!_ My brain tries to conjure some advice from Rika but I push it back by trying to rational the situation. This Gona just HAPPENS to look like a younger female me, and The Lorax just overheard something someone ELSE said and didn't actually SEE anything/one. I head upstairs, not entirely certain that I have convinced myself of this.

* * *

 **Hello, I hope you have enjoyed this unexpected chapter and are enjoying the story so far!  
**

 **#1: The musical version of _Gigi_ opened on Broadway, November 13th, 1973. This will be an important point later on!**

 **#2: On July 30th, 1916, German agents set fire to some munitions on 'Black Tom' (the island next to Liberty Island) and caused several explosions. The first and largest was at 2:08 in the morning, the force was equivalent of a 5.0-5.5 magnitude earthquake and felt as far away as Philadelphia. Fragments also blew everywhere and some found themselves stuck in the Statue of Liberty.  
**

 **Seven people died, including a policeman, a Chief of Police, a ten-month-old baby, and a barge captain. The Statue of Liberty's torch has been shut to tourists since what's called the 'Black Tom explosion'.**

 **#3 & #4: '** ** **I wonder if any of them knitted', and '**** **Like a native'. These translations come from the website freetranslation . com.  
**

 **#5: Phonics are a method used to help learn reading and writing. You can look it up on Wikipedia for a LOT more details!  
**

 _ **In our next chapter:**_

 **A crash in the night! The story's plot really starts going as someone vandalizes our characters' new homes, and The Lorax reveals some strange happenings shortly before the animals returned...**


	10. The Baby in the Photograph

Chapter Ten: The Baby in the Photograph

( _The next morning_ )

 _Bounce…..bounce…bounce._

 _A bouncing ball…..I'm in this dark room. Or tunnel, maybe._

 _I hear the laughter of a small child and soon I see the heavily silhouetted figure of said child._

 _I see the ball being picked up by them and follow up to their heads like in the movies._

' _Daddy…?'_

*The Once-ler's POV*

My eyes slowly open, and turn to my clock in time to watch it change from 4:49 to 4:50 AM. I rub my temples and lay on my back, staring up at the ceiling for a bit.

 _How many times does this make it now? For the girl, I mean?_ I dunno, I lost count after...after...oh gosh, I've lost count of THAT as well. But that's not too important, I've been having those dreams nearly every night for nearly forty years (by my best estimate). They're all the same too: I'm in a dark room or tunnel of some kind, I see a white bouncing ball, hear the laughter of a child and I follow the ball to them.

The thing my dreams won't show me? What the girl or boy actually _looks_ like. The only reasons I know it was a girl this time was because she always a plaid jumper and Mary Jane shoes. And I really do not need that...I already have some suspicions of what, no, _who_ they look like.

Yes. Yes, what I told Mustache the other day was a lie: I DO have a child out there somewhere.

I get up and go over to my desk where I keep the red album. I used to keep it under my bed or pillow but since the Wall came down and O'Hare now essentially out of the picture, I've felt a bit better over not holding it in my hands almost twelve hours a day. I debate turning on my lantern but decide I don't want The Lorax or any of the animals turning up; the sun is about to rise anyway so my eyes are going to be straining themselves for long.

The letters are a bit worn from being read so many times but the photos are still in good condition due to me keeping them in plastic. But the one that's most precious to me is kept folded in my hat. On the back is MARCH, some smudge I can't decipher, and the year 1975. I know this baby was born around the end of that month because I 'received' this in the beginning of April. The front of it still brings me the same joy as it did when I first got it...

The photo is the first I have seen of my child -whoever they are- out in this big, wide world for the very first time. The baby is kept safe and warm in what I believe is the most full baby bunting that has ever been made ever (only the baby's sleeping face sticks out of it). He or she also has a smaller than average pacifier in their mouths. This is one of the few photos I have where they're being peaceful. Though this is in black-and-white, I can already tell the small tuft of hair on their forehead is dark in color ( **1** ).

*whimper* My eyes are getting misty, the only reason I allow two tears to roll down my cheeks. Looking through this album has kept me going through the times out here that were the hardest, which were usually the times when I would get my hopes up and then have them dashed when kids would come and never return to hear the rest of the story. Or the long stretches of the times in-between where no one would come at all.

 _The rest of the story,_ I almost laugh. _The underlining part no one ever knew existed before...and still don't know about._

I know what you're thinking: Lying to The Lorax the other day was NOT a smart move. I know now that with him, the animals, and some new people in my life, one way or another, it WILL be found out eventually. Okay, I tell someone. But who?

If I had kept my promise and things worked out, the first being (be they human, animal, or nature spirit) that would ever know ever would be Melvin. He may be a snark but he does love kids and I know he would be over the moon if he knew one of us brothers had a baby he could possibly give rides to. The first human being who would know would be a cousin I've been close to for a long time. But Melvin is not here and must not have been for awhile, and since I haven't heard from my cousin for nearly forty years, the first I should tell has to be Mustache. Out of everyone then and now, I think he deserves it the most.

That settles it: Tomorrow, after breakfast, I'm gonna track him down and tell him. I go back to my bed and start trying to get back to sleep before I can actively talk myself out of this.

 _CRASH!_

I bolt upright. _What was that?!_ I jump outta bed and run over to the window and this time I turn on the lights. But even though the sun is making the horizon noticeably brighter, there is still not enough light to see further than my old factory.

Was that a car? It really sounded like one! Oh my gosh, what if someone is in trouble? I throw on some clothes and grab my coat. In minutes, I'm outside with my lantern calling out and looking around to where I believe the sound came from.

*About Twenty Minutes Later*

I get back inside my Lerkim, my thoughts racing. I haven't found anything, no car wrecks or anything like that. That's the type of sound I heard. I wonder if I just imagined it in my daze but at the same time, I wonder what would happen if I DIDN'T report it and something really DID happen.

I call the police.

*Mid-morning*

As you can probably guess, I did not go back to sleep. I spent the whole sunrise out on my porch waiting to see if I could find anything out. I didn't, the only thing that possibly looks different are the tall trees that have set up a few miles away from my factory. I decide to go inside and make something to eat. The police said they are gonna send someone out to talk to me.

That was about an hour ago - I chalk it to them having a difficult time finding the way here. Even though there's only one route here (which was for my delivery trucks), it's still pretty hard to find the quickest way to get here.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK! I practically jump. _Sheesh, that must be the cops_. I open the door and do in fact find two cops waiting for me.

The two introduce themselves as Officers Peters and James ( **2** ). What apparently happened was one of the tall trees beyond my factory somehow fell down near a bunch of college kids out for a camping party. _Huh, so that's what looked so different_...

For awhile, they ask me questions about the noise I heard and how I went looking for it. I think I tell it truthfully but I can't help starting to think that Officer James (the younger of the two) eyes me with suspicion. Well, I guess if you're the one who chopped down an entire forest of Truffula trees, you would be at the top of the suspect list too! Things really get tense when I noticed that Mustache was looking through the window (which I'd left open) but I manage to get in front of it in time. Thankfully, they do not seem to notice.

"Well, that's all the questions we have for now." says Officer Peters, who hands me a card with their numbers on it.

"Keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary. We don't want these 'pranks', or whatever they are, to be spreading to this area of town." says Officer James, who shakes my hand goodbye. He's not too bad.

But...'pranks'? I wonder what they mean by that?

I watch them drive down the road (they asked for directions back to town) and the instant they disappear, I run behind my house to where Mustache is. When I do, he actually bumps into my leg and falls backward but is up in a flash.

I ask him "What happened?!" and at the same time he asks "What were the cops doin' at _your_ place?!". Then he tugs at my leg and urges me to follow him. I do, and ask the few animals who came with him to watch the house until we get back.

On our way over, we calm ourselves down enough to explain what happened. It was easy for me to tell my side but his started much earlier...

 _Every so often, he and a group of animals would wake up before the sun rose and being unable to fall back asleep, they usually find a spot to watch it. They were wandering in the opposite direction when two things happened at once: Mustache got this very sudden and very splitting headache and there was this horrific buzzing noise that woke EVERYONE up._

 _When they heard the tree crash, Mustache ran to it and found a group of kids all around, moaning.  
_

But the part that stuck out to him the most was the _smell_. "Like apples, only not really. It's hard to explain..." It takes me a minute to realize he's talking about beer. I explain that some college kids went out for a camping party (and evidently got hammered during it).

It takes longer than I expect to reach the tree's spot - I thought The Lorax would lead me in a straight line there like my view out my window but instead he takes me around my factory and up the hillside in what I guess is similar to half an oval. I'm lucky I've managed to stay in relatively good health all these years but I'm not as young as I used to be, so I have to CRAWL up the rest of the hill to see the sight. Soon we peek over the edge.

"Hey, doncha think you should take your hat off?" Mustache whispers. There's no one around but we both feel to do that for some reason. I take my hat off to lessen our chances of being caught (a bit reluctantly, might I add. I am not super pleased about going bald!).

The sight is, um, amazing and shocking at the same time: The tree needed more than one person to make a circle around it, so it was pretty wide and quite tall from what I can remember. Alas, now all that's left is giant flat stump.

I turn to Mustache. "Did you see anything else when you got here?"

He shakes his head. "Only some startled and groggy kids. I'm just glad no one was hurt..." I agree, and we both slink back to start our trek back to my house. As we get halfway down the hill, something occurs to me.

"Mustache, one of the cops mentioned that the other areas of town are having trouble with these...'pranks', I guess you call them-" he turns around to me "-so you do know about this." I finish.

He doesn't meet my gaze at first. "They're not pranks. Or if they are, it is in _very_ poor taste." He sniffs to show his disapproval and offers to sit down and tell me. I'm glad he does - I think I'm gonna need a break before we start the walk back home.

 _For the past few months, the animals would notice excessively amounts of trash - usually cans or other plastic stuff - but just after we heard Ted had brought in and planted the last seed, things started to pick up and it got more - well, I'm not sure if you call a drawing vicious but *I* certainly do!_

The 'drawing' is actually a spray-painted picture on the side of a brick building - of a Bar-ba-loot with a target sign on its back. This greatly unnerved them, as this apparently was _not_ there the _other_ times they had settled there. (That would definitely unnerve me!)

"At the very start of it, we thought whatever, there are just bad apples -um, no pun intended," he says after he realizes that. "Then I noticed something that told me it was - _isn't_ \- random."

 _Oh, this does not sound good._ "What?"

"We'd find things in every one of the places the animals would trek to during their seasonal migrations. Some of it was really smelly, and we would remember what you told us about certain things that couldn't be thrown out 'the ordinary way'. All of us would go to our areas hoping nothing was there, only to..." he trails off.

"You think someone is FOLLOWING you?"

Is anyone else having a little trouble imaging this? I am! I cannot imagine who would wanna follow my animal friends and their guardian around and make their homes dirty and scare them with graffiti pictures.

"It's the only explanation I can think of...unless you have a better one?" I don't, sadly. "Well, we can get by for a few more months, at least until the Truffulas here start producing more fruit and grow a bit taller."

Then I get an idea. "You said you find stuff every time you leave an area and come back?"

"Yeah...?"

"Why don't we do a test?" He looks confused. "I'd like to see if someone really IS following you or not. So here's what we do: All of the animals and you move somewhere closer to my house and over the coming days, we see if there are any changes in the immediate area. Then you move back to where you were before and see what happens - or has happened."

This is a REALLY big risk I'm taking: If the cops had trouble getting here, what would happen if we actually _find_ our stalker? What if they try to hurt Mustache, or the animals? And what if Ted or Audrey somehow found them? But I try to push those thoughts away. The biggest advantage I can see us (possibly) having is strength in numbers.

"That does sound like a good idea..." he nods, "but where would all the animals sleep? We may sleep on the ground, but that doesn't mean we like getting dirty - or dusty, in the case of your factory floor."

 _I totally agree._ "You can stay in my house, just like you used to do." _When they're not sneaking in and trying to send me down a river. Ha ha!_

"But there are more of us now. Isn't your house a little small?"

"I'll make room. And you can all sleep in my room with me."

He thinks about it for a minute. "That sounds good to me." He gets up noticeably happier. "We better get goin', otherwise the littler ones are gonna think somethin's happened to us."

"Hee, yeah, let's go." I get up and follow him back to my house, ready to discuss my idea for seeing if someone is being random or actually stalking them.

 _MY_ plan - for telling Mustache the truth about this baby in the photos - will have to be put on hold for a little longer. Even so, I keep a little ways behind The Lorax, adjusting my hat and keeping the red album as close as I can get without hurting myself.

* * *

 **Ohhhhh, boy! No _wonder_ our Once-ler is a bit (okay, a LOT) antsy about showing others his red album. HIS child?! How did THIS come about?! :O **

**#1: The baby takes its likeness from the baby you can have in one of the _Harvest Moon_ video games. Tell me which one you think it is! :D **

**#2: The two cops' names are based off the two main characters from the late-1960s TV series _Adam-12_. It's a show about two beat cops and it is done as realistically as humanly possible. I've seen a few and I think it's really good! **

**This is one of many chapters where I wish I could draw better XD But anyway...**

 _ **In our next chapter:**_

 **A fun sleepover chapter in which The Once-ler tells everyone about a famous book series...  
**


	11. The Even Sillier-marillion!

Chapter Eleven: The Even Sillier-marillion!

( _The evening of March 5_ _th_ )

Its one thing to _say_ guests can sleep over at your place.

But when you're the only human and your 'guests' are animals and their leader is a peanut-shaped nature spirit, finding everyone a comfortable sleeping spot can get a little hard.

Because there are a few more animals than the LAST time they snuck in my house, a few have to double up and bunk with someone else. Thankfully, we've gotten everyone blankets (from the old Thneeds I'd find, remember?) so no one will freeze. The hardest animals to find a good sleep arrangement for are the Humming-Fish. Adult Humming-Fish can get out and walk on land for up to two days – little ones need to be near water _at all times_ (according to Mustache, it takes practice for them to stay out of water, physically and mentally. He says they'll figure it out eventually.). So after filling nearly every cup, bowl, and my bathtub, I believe everyone now has a bed.

Currently, the little ones are pestering their parents for a bedtime story. And since we're all in the same room, they want the SAME story. But none of said parents and/or grandparents really know about 'what consists of a proper bedtime story' (the dictionary sadly does not qualify, which is a real bummer because that's really the only book that has survived my long exile).

"Seriously? You don't have any other books here?" Even The Lorax is quite taken aback by a house that doesn't have SOME sort of reading material in it.

"The others I had went to fuel to keep me warm during winter. Either that, or they've been lost over the years." _This is making me wish I was more of a bookworm when I was younger…_ Even popular books I only briefly skimmed-

Wait, that's it! "On second thought, I might have a story. It's the same one Audrey is reading for her class right now."

I make my way back to my bed; I had been looking out over the hills with binoculars. So far, nothing strange has come our way. _And let's hope it STAYS that way!_

"Now," I begin, "before I get into the plot of this story, there are several background details we need to get through. This whole plot takes place in a world called Middle-Earth, where many different people and animals – natural and unnatural – live. There are four main 'races' in Middle-Earth. There are humans of varying backgrounds, but there's also Elves and Dwarves of various backgrounds. But the main character is part of a race called the Hobbits..."

I'm sitting with my back towards my alarm clock so I can't see the time but I'm guessing it takes me almost a half hour to explain the background. Once that's done I'm able to start the story proper. THAT takes a pretty good deal of time, partially because I _also_ have to explain some of its prequel, being _The Hobbit_.

"So now there are nine in this Fellowship, and that is where Audrey left off."

There's a chorus of groans from the nine littlest ones and even a few teenagers. I guess they must have been more interested in the story that I expected….

"Lemme see if I got all this straight," The Lorax says, "this guy's uncle inadvertently found the Big Bad Guy's magic ring on a _completely separate adventure_ , and the Big Bad knows it and has sent his nine minions out to capture it –"

"Uh-huh."

"(LT): And now they're gonna go TOWARDS the bad guy who's trying to kill them and enslave the Earth?" Pipsqueak finishes.

"That's right."

"(LT) But that's stupid!" Bill exclaims. "Why would you go TO the home of the guy who's trying to kill you?"

"Because that's where his Ring was made...and it's the only place it can be permanently destroyed." Everyone groans at that. There's _always_ a catch!

"(LT): What's with the Ring, anyway? Does it do anything?" Binnie asks.

"(LT): Or was it made out of really expensive stuff?" Bobbie adds.

"That part, I'm not sure of," I say to Bobbie, "but it DOES have magic powers and not ones that are particularly helpful at the moment. If you put it on, it makes you invisible BUT..." I pause here to make sure everyone's paying attention. "While you're invisible, those Nine Riders CAN see you and sense you as can Sauron if you're nearby him. However, that's not the Ring's real power. The Ring has a part of Sauron's 'soul' - if he HAS one - in it. There have some instances where his physical body was destroyed but he can continue to live and come back because the Ring survived."

"Is that why Frodo is so tempted to put it on at really inopportune moments?" Mustache asks. He seems to be more understanding of what's happening now.

"Yep." I nod. "That is why the Ring CANNOT be used for anything good. Because part of Sauron is in it, he (as the Ring) will do anything to be found and brought back so he can be whole again and the longer you have the Ring, the more it works on your will and essentially your soul as well - either turning you evil or reducing you to a shell of your former self and becoming a slave to his will instead. And that's not even counting any _regular_ dangers you'd face if you were traveling cross-country there."

"(LT): Who in their right _mind_ would wanna live in Middle-Earth?! If I lived there, I'd bury myself somewhere and never come back out!" Lou says, shaking a bit. Some agree!

"If you think these three books are dangerous, you'd never make it through the PREQUEL."

"(LT): I thought _The Hobbit_ WAS the prequel." Skipper says, confused.

"For the three books, it is. But there's a book that was put together after the author died, and it's full of maps and poems written in Human and Elvish speech and other stuff-"

"(LT): Have you read it?" Billy asks, flapping his wings excitedly.

"Yes, I did." _Believe it or not..._

Right away, all of the little ones and several teenagers start begging me to read it despite their parents' protests that it is past their bedtimes. Unfortunately, this is where I must admit an uncomfortable truth.

 _About three years after...what happened...I was sitting in what became my Lerkim and I hear the ringing of the delivery system Rika set up for us. There was a package inside and the note attached to it said 'Happy Birthday, Sticks! Even though I know happy birthdays are the LAST thing on your mind right now...Maybe this will give you some inspiration or at the very least, be a entertainment!'_

 _I couldn't believe it. So much had happened, and so many I knew had left, but she had remembered my birthday..._

Of course, that isn't the _only_ thing she had to remember. I lay diagonally across my bed (there's no one underneath me. I checked!) and stare at the ceiling.

"But I knew I could not get super attached to the book, with these winters..." I trail off.

"(LT): Do you remember any of the parts in it?" Izzy asks from a pitcher on the table.

"There's only one part of it I really remember. It's the most important event of any world." I wait for them to respond.

"(LT): Which is...?" Charlie asks.

"Well...what does every world start out with?"

I can only see Mustache if I turn my head upward or roll over in his direction and look up, but I can tell he (like the others) are pondering this. Then I can tell that his eyes get a tiny bit wider as he seems to come up with the answer. "A beginning...A creation." he says.

"You got it, the only part I can really recite by heart: Middle-Earth's Creation Story - and oddly enough I can still remember how to pronounce it too - _Ainulindale. '_ Music of the Ainur'." ( **1** )

At the mention of music, most of the little ones get excited and ask me what kind of music, did it have the 'music with rocks' (AKA rock and roll), what instruments were there, etc. There was none of the other two (which was a bit disappointing) but the Ainur's voices sounded so much like the instruments it wouldn't matter. Then I start telling them the story...

"Like our world, Middle-Earth has one Supreme Deity. His name is Eru, but most refer to him as Iluvater. He made the Ainur, who are basically the book's version of angels - some are male, some are female, some are actual siblings, and some are married. There's no Middle-Earth at the beginning so I imagined all the Ainur on a dark stage with a spotlight on them and sometimes they can hear and see others of their kind. Iluvater instructs each of them on music but they only understand the parts they've been given and are slower to learn the others."

"Eventually, Iluvater gathers them all together and tells them to 'make a Great Music' while he sits on his throne and listens. And _whew_..." I pause a bit, because I really do think this part is amazing. "The singing of the Ainur is said to be so beautiful that the world springs from it." ( **2** )

"And the world is made from a huge song?"

"Yep, the whole of Middle-Earth - with the exceptions of humans and Elves - is made this way. Humans and Elves are created by Iluvater alone. However, this is the time where Evil comes into existence too."

"(LT): How?" Ellie asks.

"One of the most powerful of the Ainur tries to weave some of his OWN creation into the Music and ends up disrupting it pretty spectacularly. I have forgotten his real name, but most in Middle-Earth - if they are willing enough to utter it - refer to him as 'Morgoth' and he is the _original_ Big Bad. Sauron actually still works for him."

"Well, Morgoth's not really doing it very secretly, if he starts out doing it in front of _hi_ s _Creator_..." Mustache comments.

"Well, he doesn't get away with it for long. When the Music ceases, he is promptly scolded which in turn secretly makes him really angry. But then Iluvater gives everyone a vision of what they made with their Music and then starts it up. Some of the Ainur (Morgoth included) want to go down into the world. And they can on the condition that now their powers are bonded to the place - they are now its life and its life is theirs. Those Ainur are called the Valar, and the lesser spirits that went with them are the Maiar. The Maiar aren't mentioned a lot, though, from what skimming I did of the book."

"(LT): So did these Valar have to make EVERYthing in the world?" Rodney asks. Rodney is another Bar-ba-loot from way back when but I didn't know him as well as Lou or Pipsqueak. Apparently, he and Lou had dueled to win Ellie's heart before Pipsqueak won her in the end ( **3** ). Rodney eventually mated with Anna, whose unusual among Bar-ba-loots because she has amber eyes and slightly goldish fur color. She also has what looks like a small curly fuzz of hair (similar to a human's) in the middle of her head.

"Yep, for the most part. But it was very difficult because Morgoth kept ruining just about everything they did - so much so that he could no longer use his powers to make something unique. He could only create mockeries of what the others made. As you probably have already guessed, he's not counted anymore among their ranks."

"(LT): How many Valar are there? And what do they do?" Pipsqueak asks. Oddly enough, I still remember THIS too.

"There are seven in all, for each gender. In order of how powerful they are, there is Manwe, Ulmo, Aule, Orome, Namo, Irmo, and Tulkas for the men. And for the women, there's Varda, Yavanna, Nienna, Este, Vaire, Vana, and Nessa. You will often hear Namo and Irmo called Mandos and Lorien respectively but those are actually the names of where they live."

"Tulkas is the Valar of war, though he usually laughs during it. He's...not all that bright, but he is a true friend and he's really fast. One of the few who can keep up with him is his wife Nessa. She loves to dance and to run with deer. Vana embodies springtime, youth, and birth. She's the little sister of Yavanna and the spouse of Orome. He's the Hunter among the Valar and he has a lot of dogs and rides a pretty white horse. Three of the Valar are siblings and they make up the Masters of Spirits: Namo, Irmo, and Nienna. Nienna is in charge of grief and pity, she cries for every huge hurt Middle-Earth has had. She isn't married but she goes to Mandos to tend to those there. Irmo and Este live in Lorien which is fitting because they're in charge of dreams and rest respectively."

"What does Namo do?" The Lorax asks, although I think he kinda gets the feeling of where I'm going.

"Namo is in charge of the dead. His description freaked me out when I first skimmed over it - he's described as stern and quiet and he doesn't forget anything. _However_ , he doesn't pronounce his dooms for kicks, he does it because Manwe tells him to. Namo doesn't seem like the type who is social, I think, but other than his sister Nienna, his most frequent company is his wife Vaire. Vaire isn't mentioned a lot, but she and I have something in common: we both knit. Vaire's job is to weave the whole history of the world and hang the finished products inside Mandos, which is always expending as the ages pass."

"(LT): What about Ulmo?" Filly asks.

"Ulmo is the master of water. Since water is nearly everywhere, nothing much in Middle-Earth gets passed him (whether he likes it or not) but he's always kept watch there no matter how far apart Elves/humans got from the Valar. Aule and Yavanna also have a rather unique place in their group because they're two of three who have made another 'race' for Middle-Earth. It started with Aule, who is in charge of non-organic materials like gold. Remember the beginnings take place _ages_ before any of the races show up so the Valar are waiting for a VERY long time. Well, Aule gets impatient and also begins to desire beings to teach his craft to so he secretly creates the Dwarves (originally there were seven) in a secret cave. But Iluvater catches and scolds him for doing this."

"Unlike Morgoth who is somewhat like Aule in his desire for new things, Aule admits his wrong and raises his huge hammer assuming that Iluvater will want the Dwarves destroyed. However, when he raises the hammer, the Dwarves start to cry and beg him not to and Iluvater says he has accepted them and that's how they were able to beg for mercy. But since the Elves are to come first, the Dwarves - and Aule - will have to wait. Because the Dwarves were made, this is also how the Ents are created."

A few of my friends mishear this and think I say 'ants' instead, so there is a great deal of confusion as to how ants have a role in all this but I clear it up by telling them that the Ents aren't bugs but trees.

Mustache gives me a quizzical look. "The Ents are trees."

Oh, I've just realized how...um, awkward that sounds. "Ents are tree-like in appearance, with arms and legs and faces and everything. Other than their gender, the only physical difference among them what tree species they look like. Say one lives around a bunch of oak trees, they will resemble one. They have long life spans too but that won't save them."

"From what?"

"From their fate." Everyone goes quiet. "The Ents have one glaring problem for their kind - there are no females. Anymore. There were once 'Entwives' (that's what they're called) but they liked smaller plants like flowers and bunches and they moved out of the big forests. No worries, they didn't go far - in fact, they went just down the hill. There they had flowers and they even taught some humans how to grow food. But at some point, Sauron came through the area and turned everything brown. No one saw the Entwives again although the Ents that are left still hold out hope that they're out there somewhere..."

"(LT): Is Yavanna the one who created the Ant- _Ents_?" Skipper asks, swishing his back fins in the bowl he's sleeping in.

I nod. "Uh-huh. Aule kept the Dwarves a secret but when told her (because she IS his wife), she grew worried that none of her creations would be safe in Middle-Earth. Yavanna is in charge of trees and plants which the 'Children' are gonna need one day because they will have dominion, as Aule points out. She knows this is true but goes to Manwe and asks if it's possible for her creations to be protected in some form. After some prayer, Iluvater answers and that's where we get the Ents."

"Manwe seems to be the leader of them all. What makes him and Varda so powerful?" Lou asks.

"Manwe is in charge of air and birds, who also serve as his messengers of sorts. Plus, he also has super-sonic hearing. He is said to be a compassion ruler and not really concerned with how powerful he himself is. He's also the most faithful to Iluvater. Now since these guys are Middle-Earth's version of angels, they are physically very beautiful but Varda is said the most beautiful of them all because Iluvater's light is shown on her face. She can see through nearly all kinds of darkness - even more so if Manwe is with her - and one other doing that endears her to the Elves especially."

"(LT): How so?" Princess asks from the desk chair top.

"Well, Elves and men and all didn't just pop out of thin air. They were all 'awoken' in various areas. The Elves went first - only there was a slight conundrum. There was no light, no moon, no sun. So what do you think the first light they saw was?"

"(LT): Ooh, ooh! I know, I know!" Pippin hops up. "(LT): It's stars."

"You got it! Varda is in charge of making stars, which were the every first lights in Middle-Earth until the coming of the Sun and Moon and a sign to Morgoth that the Valar are still in charge."

I let this sink in for a second and then Mustache asks "There was no Sun or Moon then? How did everyone manage to get by with only starlight?"

"That part, I don't..." I trail off as something tugs hard at my memory. I didn't get too attached to the book because I knew it only end up in the fire, but..."Hang on." I get up and head over to my desk. I start searching through the piles of papers I had saved in its drawers until-

"Ha, it looks like we're in luck." I say triumphantly as I briefly examine my find of paper-cliped papers. "I saved one chapter of the book." And now that I've read it, I remember a little more of how the Sun and Moon got to be there. Going back to my bed, I explain as much as I can remember about Morgoth _supposedly_ reforming, Feanor and his making of the Silmarils, and how Morgoth killed Feanor's father and Feanor swearing his terrible oath.

"It was one of the times Elves grew apart from the Valar and one part of the reason why Valinor is so hidden even from the Elves. 'Chapter Eleven: Of the Sun and Moon and the Hiding of Valinor. It is told that after...'" ( **4** )

And so I read the only full chapter I saved from my winter fires. It was only after I read only the part about the Trees' leftover stumps that I realize how uncomfortably familiar that sounds and wonder if anyone else has. But they're all listening expectantly, even The Lorax!

"'...save one only: the mightiest mariner of song.' And that's how the Sun and Moon were made in Middle-Earth. I don't remember what the chapter before it was about, I'm afraid."

Everyone settles in now as it's getting late. "People controlling the Sun and Moon. That's a new on me!" Mustaches says, rearranging himself on the rocking chair someone gave me.

"(LT): I wonder if they ever get lonely up there?" Ellie asks.

"It seems like the Valar and Maiar are telepathic, so I always assumed that's how they stay in contact."

"(LT): Or maybe they updated and have computers do it instead!" Pippy says and everyone laughs.

As I fall asleep, the fact that someone might be stalking us comes to mind again. But I have Ted, Audrey, their families, and access to town now. We have safety in numbers, so who could possibly wanna fight against all of us?

* * *

 **#1: _Ainulindale_ does mean 'Music of the Ainur'. It is also the first story in _The Silmarillion_. **

**#2: This is a rephrasing of a quote from the History Channel program _Clash of the Gods_. From its ninth episode 'Tolkien's Monsters'. :D**

 **#3: The basic plot of the Lorax mini-movie 'Serenade'. Rodney is supposed to be the other Bar-ba-loot and Ellie is the female one he's trying to woo. You can find it on Youtube!**

 **Rodney and Anna are my inventions for the story, though!**

 **#4: This is the opening lines of the actual chapter. I would have gotten it from my own copy of the book but it's still unpacked.**

 _ **The Silmarillion**_ **came out in 1977, which in my story is two years after The Once-ler exiles himself. My mom bought a copy of the book for my grandmother...and also for herself :D**

 **The title of this chapter comes from parody book _The Sillymarillion_ by Donald Lloyd (it's REALLY funny, by the way!) XD **

***All info for the subject in this chapter comes from the LoTR Wiki, Middle-Earth Role Playing Wiki, _Clash of the Gods_ , and for the opening lines, a website called 'The Radical Militant Library'. **

**Interested in what happens next? Staaaay tuned...**


	12. Another Proverbial Nail In My Coffin

**I'm back! Did you miss me? :D  
**

 **...I didn't think so...**

* * *

Chapter Twelve: Another Proverbial Nail In My Coffin

( _The morning of March 6th_ )

*The Once-ler's POV*

 _Hmmpf_...I slowly open my eyes to the lighted curtains of my bedroom.

 _Is it really morning already?_ I don't think I slept very well last night. Maybe that's because it was in fits, it's been a LONG time since I have had anybody sleep in the same room as me.

Plus, I think Mustache was having a dream. I'm _pretty sure_ that was him making gnawing noises in his sleep!

I decide to get up and water the growing saplings out front and it takes a few minutes for me to get over or around those who are between me and the door. No one else is up or shows any signs of waking anytime soon. Within ten minutes, I'm downstairs in the kitchen filling up an empty watering can. As I head out, I shut the door behind me without turning around.

*Clunk!* The watering can falls from my hand and I back myself up to the door, thinking I hear something squishing in the process.

My yard…my yard has been _trashed._ Literally! There's garbage everywhere! As I start walking through to look around, I get an even nastier surprise: A few of the new trees have had some of their tufts pulled out. I glance down at a little orange one just before the hill starts sloping and notice something.

It's a cigarette – ew! And judging by its smell, it was fairly recently used. I'm amazed and also very thankful this didn't start a fire and burn us all to death. Whoever did this either takes a smoke break or this was already it in the rest of the garbage (and I doubt that). I reach up to wipe my forehead to calm myself down and as I move, I can feel my clothes, um…..Well, do you know how your clothes feel after they have gotten super wet or something like that? That's how mine feel.

I reach my arm to the back of my elbow and when I bring it back, my palm has this black smudge on it. I don't recommend doing this, but I take a big sniff of it.

What the? "Paint? What-" Oh, right, I thought I heard some squishing when I first caught sight of my yard. What would – out of the corner of my eye, I see some drops of paint in the path I've been taking around the yard.

What's on my door is the answer: a giant black X _right_ _on my door._

I yelp.

I must do it pretty loudly too; loud enough to send The Lorax right out the door. He barely gets in a glance before one or more of the animals behind him push him forward. They do it hard enough to send him rolling down the pathway. He goes between my legs and nearly grabs my coattails but he misses. He ends up behind me and in the direction facing us. Thankfully, by the time everyone got out and was surveying everything, I calmed down enough to explain everything. Then I get everyone inside (and hidden!) so I could call the police.

Guess what? It's those SAME cops from yesterday! How about _that_. After they question me and take some photos and a few other things, they leave me with instructions to watch for anything out of the ordinary and if this continues, to call them and they'll have surveillance set up around my perimeter. As they leave, I watch them from the path until they reach the turnoff into the town before giving everyone the all-clear (I'd hidden them all in my room and the window is open so they could hear everything that was being said).

"Are they serious, thinking this is a prank?" Mustache says coming outside towards me with his nose pinched up to avoid the smell.

"Well, yeah...Sometimes, people will leave weird stuff on other yards in the middle of the night. Most of the time, its usually a prank..." I recall an episode of this TV show I saw sometime last summer. It was about these guys who played a prank similar to this on their high school classmates ( **1** ). But everyone including the girls thought it was in good fun. This, on the other hand? _Definitely_ not!

Looks like our morning is going to be spent clearing trash. _EW!_

( _The next day, a little while before noon. The Once-ler is in the public library looking through books_ )

Not having anything other the dictionary to read got me thinking that I should _seriously_ consider getting some more books. I know I don't have a _lot_ of space but I have enough. So I decide to go to the library and see if I can find anything I remember. Thneedville's library is rather spacious, at least in how they sort genres which leads me across several aisles.

Then again, it HAS been awhile since I learned the Dewy Decimal System. I wander into the Children's Section (by complete accident!) and end up finding one book there that I'm pretty sure everyone would get a real kick out of. I also try to find any part of _The Lord of the Rings_ series, but they're ALL OUT. Even _The Silmarillion_ copies have all been checked out!

 _Wow,_ I think, _I never realized Thneedville was so into_ _Tolkien_...Then I remember that this last Christmas, Ted had BEGGED his mother to let him go see the first _Hobbit_ movie in the theater. Mrs. Wiggins, being a good mother, didn't want her son across town alone in the evening.

And being a teenager, Ted commented that she let him go out over the wall alone in the dead of night ( **2** ). Mrs. Wiggins said that was different (which is true). Since Audrey was busy, Ted asked his mom if he could go with _me_. I wasn't (and still am not) exactly ready for some sort of social outing but Ted managed to resort to a tactic that left me...well, helpless: Begging. With the puppy eyes and everything! What could I do, I went with him, but told him if we got accosted I was blaming him (and yes, I was being sarcastic).

But we weren't (thank goodness!) and I'll admit, I had a blast. It was the first time I've actually seen a 3D movie too!

As I pass by the start of the History section, I remember the story about 'The Green 13'. I know all their records have just recently been declassified and haven't really been made public yet but could there be a little piece mentioned here or there? I guess it can't hurt to look so I go into an aisle and start skimming the titles. I'm glad I can go out and not be accosted or jeered at. I lift one of the books down-

"Oh, hello, Mr. Once-ler."

 _Just my luck._ "Hello, O'Hare."

"Hey, do you know what the word is someone who helps an enemy?" He's writing something on a notepad and glances over at me through the 'window'.

 _Seriously? We're in a LIBRARY. There's gonna be a dictionary within arm's length!_ "Traitor." _  
_

"Oh, right..." He starts scribbling again. I take advantage of this by ducking out and escape to one of the nearby reading tables and am not TOO surprised when he not only _follows_ me, but sits down directly across from me.

 _Pay him no mind, Wuncler,_ I think, using my actual name. _Just read your book, read your book, read your book..._ I repeat over and over in my head.

"So I'm writing this thing on our town's very own network of spies." He comments while shifting through one of the books he's brought over.

"Fascinating." I say as flatly and emotionless as possible, hoping he'll **take the hint and go away.**

But he doesn't. "Apparently, one of their members is still counted among them although it's widely known that she's been considered a traitor for some time." Yeah, something tells me asking for that definition was a ruse...

"That's interesting, O'Hare, but I really-" _Please , go away..._

"And my paper is going to be on-" he presents this one book open to this page with a picture of- " _this_ woman."

"'Perhaps one of the most stunning and bizarre traitorous acts was done by U.S.M.C.W.R Major Rita-ler'."

I stop as I realize what I'm reading and see the woman I'm looking at. And her NAME?

"Ler?! That's MY last name!" I say a bit loud for this place. I hear someone hush us from behind one of the bookshelves. "Sorry!" I whisper back and lean in closer to O'Hare. "And that woman looks almost just like me!" I frantically whisper back to him.

"Oh, I'm _sorry,_ " he says with obvious sarcasm, "did you NOT know about Rita-ler? She IS your grandmother!"

"This is ridiculous, my family might have problems but even we're not THAT-" I can't finish, my head is spinning and I slowly rise to my feet. Is this true? Would this explain-?

"Yep. And soon, _everyone's_ gonna know about it." He grins this evil grin I've only seen one time before.

*The Lorax's POV*

My interactions with humans might be limited and most likely out of practice since it's only been a few months since I reunited with Bean-Pole but I can still read him pretty well.

And then there are times where I don't have a _clue_ what's goin' on in that head of his. Take now, for instance - as soon as he steps through the front door, he just drops everything and lays down on the couch. This wouldn't be so bad if he actually _said_ anything (which he hasn't!) in the over half-hour it's been since he got back.

 _Someone must've said something to him._ Don't get me wrong, I don't want him to go out into town if he's not comfortable with it yet but eventually, he's gonna have to face others again. Oh, wait. He's moving...He's going to eat!

*The Once-ler's POV*

"Well, at least we know he's still eating..." Mustache comments to the animals who followed him (because he followed me) to the kitchen. The only reason I'm eating is because I haven't eaten anything substantial since this morning. At this rate, they'll follow me until either I tell them or they figure out on their own somehow.

"I ran into O'Hare today..." I'm looking through my sink window but I can tell activity has slowed considerably.

"...You did." The Lorax says. I nod.

I explain - as carefully as I can - about what happened. To say they're surprised is an understatement.

"Um, uh, wow..." Mustache scratches his head. I know he and the others do not understand most of this but they know enough to know it's bad. "I never realized you had a grandmother who was a traitor."

"That's the problem, though," I say as I re-wet the rag I've been using to clean the kitchen floor. Cleaning, I've found, is my new nervous tick, which is good for my fingernails but bad for my knees. "There's no one named Rita in my family. At least, not that I'm aware of."

"(LT): Maybe it's another completely different family with the same last name?" Charlie suggests.

"Spelled the exact same way? Put it on the end of their name the same way? I thought that, but no, this woman...This woman looks like me." I tell them that although my view of her was brief, I could see how... _pointed_ her face looked and how much it resembles me in that one picture with the words 'TOO BIG TO FAIL' written above me ( **3** ). No one knows what to say to that.

"Hey, we're not gonna think any less of you if this woman is your relative...and a traitor." The Lorax says reassuringly.

"I appreciate that. _Others_ might see it differently."

"(LT): Who ARE your grandparents, anyway? You never told us about them." Bill asks from atop the fridge.

"I don't know." I say, finally getting to my feet (which is rather difficult). "We never talked about my...dad's family. And the few times me and my brothers would attempt to ask Mom about _her_ family, she would shush us and make some comment about us not being careful and 'ending up like her'. So judging by my mother's reaction, none of us even _tried_ getting something out of Aunt Grizelda."

"Okay, so you MIGHT have a really bad apple in your family. So what? You still can't say you know for sure this woman is your grandmother or even just another relative which I'm STILL amazed at how you can keep them all straight! We should wait until all their records are released this summer. Then we'll see for sure. Besides, how are we to say she's betrayed everyone? Maybe it was all a misunderstanding." Mustache comments.

I don't know how well I can believe this. To me, it's another proverbial nail in my coffin.

* * *

 **#1: I once saw something similar on a TV show called 'High School Stories'. I don't remember the episode title, but the show airs on MTV and MTV2.**

 **#2: The whole way of writing this part comes from an episode of the BYUTV show 'American Ride'. The host, Stan Ellsworth, was talking about Sybil Ludington, 'The Female Paul Revere'. It was pretty funny XD**

 **#3: The description for this woman will come later. She's based off of a character from a book and that's all I'll say for now :D**

 **So, is it true? Does The Once-ler family really have a traitor mixed in? Staaay tuned...**


	13. A Purely Sentimental Reason

**Here I am again, ready for an exciting new chapter!**

 **That includes an honorable mention! *GASP***

 **And a possible peak at who's to come! *DOUBLE GASP***

* * *

Chapter Thirteen: A Purely Sentimental Reason

*The Once-ler's POV*

When your mind races, you can't think straight. OR when you see or hear something so shocking, your mind can't process anything but that, so you get this thousand-yard wide-eyed stare thing happening. When my mind races, it's REALLY hard for me to slam it on the breaks.

Like right now: I'm trying to concentrate on scrubbing my kitchen floor, my head keeps wandering back to my encounter with O'Hare and trying nearly in vain to keep my ears _out_ of the conversations my friends are having between one another about this new prospect. _Conveniently_ , my mind decides to take a trip back in time to when yours truly here was in kindergarten (or was it first grade? It was one of the two), and we had a project when we had to do our family tree.

I was the only one in the whole class who DIDN'T know who my grandparents were. I can remember how red my face got with embarrassment. When I told my mother about how I felt, she said...

 _And you should be. What your granny did was an EMBARRASSMENT. To the whole family! And if you don't wanna end up like her, you'll drop it right now.  
_

You know, oddly enough, I've never heard her say anything about her father.

 _She tried to warn you. And you didn't listen._ Great, my inner voice is back.

 _Warn me about what?_

 _About betrayal. Look at where it's gotten you. _

I glance in my friends' directions. They are still talking among themselves and two are going through the bag full of library books with The Lorax.

 _Maybe,_ I think, _but The Lorax and animals are INDIVIDUALS. This woman betrayed a whole COUNTRY. And in wartime, no less!_

There are times where I really wish my inner voice would shut up.

 _And if I recall correctly, we were ALSO in the middle of a war back then. Don't tell me you've forgotten all those Thneeds you sent for FREE._

There are other times where I wish my inner voice was an actual physical person that I could _make_ shut up ( **1** ). I wince to myself and shut my eyes for a moment, thankful that no one can see.

"Hey, if you're not too deep in thought over there, maybe you could tell us something." Mustache snaps me outta my thoughts.

"About what?"

"About _this,_ " he says, presenting the copy of Dr. Seuss's _The Lorax_ that I borrowed from the library.

 _Huh, I wondered when they'd find that_ , I grin to myself. "What about it?"

Mustache's eyes dart from me to the book then back again. " _THIS_ ," he says with more emphasis.

"And...?"

"And were you gonna tell us about the fact that we have **a whole book** about us and what happened and all?" Oops, I think he's a little annoyed!

"The book came out about two years after I set up shop here, and boy, let me tell you." I stand up. "THAT was, uh...rather interesting day."

 _I don't think I have to tell you that my relatives were not pleased about it. I had nearly immediate family member - Mom, Uncle Ubb, and even a few cousins - come by and tell me that I should sue for defamation...  
_

"(LT): What's that mean?" Bill asks.

"It's a fancy word for 'slandering someone's reputation' ( **2** )."

"(LT): But how does it _do_ that?" Ellie asks.

"It called me out. By name, for one." I dump out the soapy water into the sink. "And it was saying what you guys were trying to tell me the whole time: that I shouldn't chop down all the trees, that I should find another way to make my Thneeds." As I'm saying this, Mustache flips through the book (a little roughly than I like).

"This is almost word for word..." Mustache says like he's outta breath. "It even has the exact same street sign! And pathway, and UNLESS stone, and..." He keeps naming off stuff until he stops and sniffs a bit. "Except I can see a FEW things were left out - like our river trip. Everyone didn't leave one by one, either - we left all at _once_."

"(LT): Does it end the same way?" Anna asks, climbing up to the seat next to The Lorax.

He flips to the end. "Hmmm, it does say Bean-Pole gives the last seed to the kid, just like he did with Ted but..." He flips the last page, where there's two blank ones. "That's it. There's nothing about what happened after."

 _And what happened in between, and what's right under your nose_ , I think, slightly ashamed.

"Did you know there was gonna be a book about us?" Mustache asks.

"No, and it was just as much as a surprise to ME then as it is to YOU now. I might've sued too except for..." I can't help trailing off, though it's not for the reason you think.

"(LT): Bad publicity?" Rodney guesses.

"No."

"(LT): Super high-priced lawyers?" is Skipper's guess.

"No."

"(LT): Rooms that gradually get hotter and hotter the longer people stay in them?" That's Louis's guess.

"Yes, but no."

"Really?" The Lorax is lost now. "Those are all reasons I can you having back then. What was the _real_ reason you didn't go after this guy?"

"A purely sentimental one," I lean my back against the sink, "Dr. Seuss was my favorite author when I was a little kid. I _loved_ reading his books, their rhymes were the best! My favorite one of them all was the first one he ever wrote, _And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street_ ( **3** ). I stopped reading them actively when I got to high school, though."

"I get it now. How could you go against someone you loved when you were a kid..." As he says this, he gets this look on his face and a few who are sitting close by him do too. They're trying to imagine me as a little kid.

"Hard to imagine me as a little kid, right?" They nod. "Well, I didn't look THAT much different. Except for my height but that started kicking in when I was...eleven or twelve, maybe- " I'm nodding my head as I say this, but when I do, my baby's photo _**falls out of my hat**_.

And EVERYONE sees it.

 _Holy..._ I can't breathe, I think my heart is about to stop...

"(LT): Is this YOU?" Ellie says, fascinated.

 _What, why would - Oh, thank God, it landed right side up!_ I quickly grab it up. "Um, it - yes, yes, it is." I show everyone, but I DON'T hand it over or show them the back. "I kept it with me because I _really_ didn't want my mom to do the regular embarrassment by showing off baby photos." _Smooth_ , my inner voice says sarcastically.

"What's on the back?" The Lorax asks.

"Oh, just, my birthday." Which isn't ENTIRELY a lie, there IS part of a birthday on the back.

"(LT): When IS your birthday, anyway?" Pipsqueak asks. "I don't think we ever asked you that!"

"July. July 25th, 1949 ( **4** ). However, that wasn't my estimated due date."

"(LT): Really? When was you SUPPOSED to come?" Pippa asks.

"Well, first off, babies come when THEY want to come, there's no 'supposing' anything. But for me, I was expected to arrive either shortly around or maybe even on the Fourth of July - that's where we celebrate our country's founding. As it stands, I was two weeks late - Mom had to actually be _induced_ because I didn't want to come out."

"Human babies can be _late_?" Mustache asks with surprise.

"Yep, though you seem to be more likely to hear about them being early." With that, I put the photo back in my hat.

And probably just as well. To make sure we know our stalker is back, The Lorax and a few of the animals are gonna go back to a site they stayed at during one of their migrations. It's a little further away from me, but thankfully he's only taking young adult animals, ones who could get away if, Heaven forbid, something should happen.

I only hope no one thinks too hard about the photo. Of me.

 _No. A PART of me..._

* * *

 _(On the start of the path to The Once-ler's house stands a woman. Whoever she is, she looks at the way with uncertainty, wondering if she should start down the trail, what would she find there, what would she even SAY if she ran into-_

 _"Honey! Are you coming?" A voice calls out._

 _"Coming!" The woman replies. Backing away, with her eyes full of guilt, she turns and leaves.)_

* * *

 **Hi, folks! I hope you are enjoying the story so far. Dang, that was a close call with The Once-ler, eh? And who is the mysterious woman?**

 **#1: I seriously don't mean to offend, but I got this idea from the fandom of Greed-ler being an entirely separate person.**

 **#2: That's the definition (citing Wikipedia).**

 **#3: Yes, indeed! _And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street_ was the first of Dr. Seuss's children's books. It was published in 1937 after being rejected TWENTY TIMES :O **

**The signature lines 'And that is a story that no one can beat/And to think that I saw it on Mulberry Street.' came from the engines of the ship Seuss and his wife were taking back home from Europe.  
**

 **#4: I've run across several fans (including on this site) who've given The Once-ler's birthday as Earth Day, and that's cool, but I wanted something a bit different. The idea of him being late was there and his birth year was there but not the actual DAY. But the date still has something to do with trees - its the earliest day where Australia's National Tree Planting Day can fall on :D**

 **And while I'm at it, _The Lorax_ was first published in 1971, which here is about two years after The Once-ler first sets up shop. You like how I added Dr. Seuss in? **

**Staaay tuned...**


	14. My First Employee Part One

**In our last chapter:**

 **We saw The Once-ler cover up an incriminating piece of evidence… (Ding!)**

 **His life being published in a children's book… (Ding!)**

 **And a mysterious woman who might want to meet him! (Ding!)**

 **What will we hear next?!**

* * *

Chapter Fourteen: My First Employee Part One

( _It is now March 9_ _th_ _. The Lorax and a few of the animals wave goodbye to their friends as they are heading off to test their mysterious stalker. Ted and Audrey, meanwhile, are getting out of school for the weekend and heading over to The Once-ler's house._ )

 ***The Once-ler's POV***

If nothing had happened these past days, I would've said that whoever's been trashing my friends' nesting areas are either pranksters with very poor taste, or someone doesn't know where the trash bins are.

Obviously that was BEFORE he, she, _they_ , decided to come out here and _trash my yard_.

I also believe they have a screw loose as well.

Anyways for the past two days, we have been discussing what - if anything - more we could do to confirm our suspicions and (possibly) get some sort of an answer. The Lorax had an idea: He would take some of the animals to their nearest nesting spot (which is over some of the hills) and they would stake it out to see if anyone would come. The rest of us would stay behind in my house and around the old factory. After some hugs and well-wishes, they set off this morning.

It's not like we won't be hearing from them. I gave Mustache my cell phone and taught him how to take pictures. I made him promise to call me (on my home phone!) in case something...happened, and none of the Swomee-Swans that went with him aren't able to fly back and give us a message.

*Knock knock knock!* _Wha? Who could - oh, wait, it's Ted and Audrey. Duh! They said they were coming over..._

"Hey, you two!" I greet them as they come in. The animals are immediately curiously and start coming over and crowding around, sniffing.

"So you're Pipsqueak?" Audrey says fascinated, after I introduced her and Ted to everyone. Pip nods.

"Did you know Rika too?" Ted asks.

He nods again and makes these gestures that I believe mean 'Yes, but not as well as I know this guy'. Without The Lorax, I'm a little lost as to exactly what the animals are saying but most of the time, they have ways of getting their points across.

"I'm guessing Ted already told you the first part of that story?" I say with a small smile towards Ted. I figured he'd do that.

"Mm-hm." Audrey says, after drinking some lemonade I gave them.

"Thank goodness, now I won't have to repeat myself." Everyone can tell by the tone of my voice that I'm about to start another part of the story so most settle down and pay attention.

"You know _how_ I met Rika, but I _hired_ her soon after I decided to stop trying to sell my Thneed..."

* * *

( _Mid-September, 1969)_

 ***The (Past!) Once-ler's POV***

"My family was right, I quit!" I toss the Thneed away from me and whether it lands in the garbage or not, I don't care. It can go anywhere it WANTS just as long as I don't have to look at it again!

After nearly a whole year of arriving and attempting to sell my Thneed, I've failed to even garner _interest_ in it. All I've gotten are tomatoes (and some other vegetables as well, but mostly those!). This is a sign, I'm sure of it - a sign that this whole thing is going nowhere and I should just stop and find something _else_ to do with my life.

On my way back to my tent, I happen to catch a glimpse of Rika and as usual she has her back turned. The reason I know it's her is because she's wearing a white lab coat. I've seen her several times since our first...encounter, but she's either doing something or talking to a store person or for some other reason has her back turned to me.

 _Honestly, she's REALLY WEIRD._

Eventually, I get back to my tent. The Lorax, Pipsqueak, Bill, and Gil are playing card games and The Lorax invites me to join in.

I think he cheats...somehow!

The next morning, I invite everyone over to have some of my homemade pancakes. They must find it pretty good, because they snarf it all down in under ten minutes. I'm making seconds when I hear Melvin snort something and something that sounds like 'not going in that far'.

It's Rika! Wonder what she's doing here? I turn my head and see her talking to Melvin outside the window.

"Hi, Rika," I greet, "What have you been up to?"

"I've been doing some testing on some of the flowers that grow here and see if they can cross-breed, and also trying to see what the properties of the various _Truffulus puffulus_ ( **1** ) can do."

Immediately after she says the word 'properties', Mustache, who has been eating, looks up in her direction and asks "Can do what?" in a way that says 'you better not be planning anything'. I get the feeling The Lorax might not entirely approve of what she has in mind.

"Can be applied into something useful," she finishes, "That way, I'll _finally_ get a research gra-"

She stops mid-word and rolls her eyes skyward like she's thinking of something. "I THINK I was also here to ask you something, Sticks, but I don't remember what that was..."

"Is that your nickname for him? Sticks?" The Lorax asks and Rika nods. "I prefer 'Bean-Pole' to 'Sticks' myself."

"I see..." Rika then takes out a small battered notebook and starts taking notes and I can hear her muttering 'Evident intelligent enough to assign nicknames'. Beside me, Mustache glances at me and his face says _Really?_.

"Well, don't worry about having to track me down to ask...whatever it was you wanted to ask me," I say as I stand up and walk over to the small kitchen area, "I've given up trying to sell my Thneed so I won't be going anywhere anytime soon."

"So, bad luck has been hitting you too?" she says quieter.

"Yeah...I know you were feeling pretty hopeful there..." _Considering YOUR success or er, employment, hinged on MY success..._

But then she perks up again. "Oh, well. I still got my experiments!" She turns around and starts heading off. waving over her shoulder, "See you around!"

"And no funny business!" The Lorax calls after her but I guess she doesn't hear him.

"(LT): Boy, that was kind of a bummer." Finn says.

"(LT): She certainly looked pretty disappointed." Gil adds.

"(LT): What's a 'research grant'?" Melody, Pipsqueak's older sister, asks from the floor.

"A sum of money you're given to do specific research on something - like trees, but it can be pretty much anything as long as you have a specific goal you're working towards. They're not gonna lend you all that money on a whim!"

" _I_ just hope she isn't gonna be doin' anything that's gonna do permanent damage." Mustache grumbles.

Rika? Do permanent damage? "Don't be silly," I say, starting to make the next round of pancakes, "I don't mean to sound rude, but Rika seems like a real scatterbrain. I think she's harmless, so I highly doubt she'd cause anything major."

"Ohhhh. and would that be ALL that you think of her?" Mustache asks and I can just HEAR the sneaky tone in his voice. I have my back to him but I just KNOW he's grinning from ear to ear and has one of his incredibly bushy eyebrows up. The little ones immediately pick up on this and start pestering me with questions.

"No, no, you guys, I am NOT planning on going out with her at ANY point."

"(LT): But why?" The little ones all ask at once.

"For starters, I don't even know her that well. We really just met. Secondly, I'm not so sure I could keep up with her while we're TALKING, and thirdly-" I stop, rather awkwardly.

"Thirdly?" The Lorax continues. I sigh and start bringing back the newly-completed pancakes.

"Thirdly...I'm not as smart as her."

"Oh, come on, Bean-Pole, you're plenty smart!"

"Not as much as her. I looked over her application she gave me when I met her halfway through my window, and she's already graduated from _college_. Do you know how old she was when she did that?"

"No..." he sounds a little wary.

"Fifteen," I say. I'm not gonna lie, I'm actually a little jealous. "That's the age MOST people are starting high school, which is the required schooling BEFORE college."

"Sounds like someone's a little jealous."

"Let me put it this way: If I was a genius like her, I might not be here right now."

But I don't dwell on this for long, and even if I _was_ a genius, it wouldn't be for science, I can tell you that!

( _Some time later_ )

I pat Pipsqueak's head after he successfully caught all the pancakes I whipped up. "Who is up for ninths?" There's a chorus of groans from the Bar-ba-loots, Swomee-Swans, and Humming-Fish on my bed.

Except Lou, of course, who raises his hand. The Lorax, though he looks rather sick, manages to sit up and says "Whew...alright, pass 'em here."

"There now, you see?" All of a sudden, the ground and the walls begin shaking! "Wh-wh-what's going on?!" I call, trying to keep the stack of pancakes from toppling over. The Lorax looks around in confusion, and some of the animals roll off the bed. Then I hear a familiar voice.

"Hey, Sticks!" It's Rika! I turn slightly and I can see her standing a few feet away out my side window. "If you've quit selling, what am I supposed to tell all the people coming over the hill?"

 _What?! What people?!_ The shaking subsides just enough for me to put down the pancakes on (slightly) steadier ground and for the rest of us to collect ourselves and rush outside. Melvin soon joins us. I glance over the hill and just like Rika said, there really _are_ a bunch of people heading my way!

"Oh, boy, that's a lot of people..." I comment to Mustache. The other animals - totally spooked, I guess - by the sheer amount of people here at one time, start running for the bushes and trees. Mustache hops into my arms and I brace myself...

 _Everybody needs a Thneed!_

 _A fine thing that all people need!_

Huh, wait, what?! Me and Mustache look at one another. These people are singing the jingle I made up! Could that mean -?!

YES! Yes, they're here to buy their own Thneeds! In fact, I am already getting inundated with so many orders that I know I'm gonna need help! And I know just who to call!

I pick up the phone. "Mom? Hey, it's me! I TOLD you I was gonna be a success! I need you to bring the whole family here! WE'RE GONNA BE RICH!"

I look up and see The Lorax giving me this...real dour look while Pipsqueak happily dances around in circles besides him. "What, I'm gonna need help. Don't worry!"

I take a minute to do a quick look over the area. I don't see Rika anywhere in the crowd.

* * *

 **Here ends the first of a near-total flashback chapter! *fanfare***

 **1) This is a made-up scientific name for the Truffula tree. My twin sister was the one who suggested it :D XD**

 **So now we've seen part of how The Once-ler hired Rika. And we saw some parts of the movie! It is _really_ hard to find clips of what you're looking for :O I know there are a lot of places where you can find the lyrics but I found them on stlyrics dot com. **

**Next, we'll see how Rika is hired and The Once-ler's family will get involved too!**

 ***IMPORTANT: Since polls do not go anywhere outside of forums, I have to take a different approach:  
**

 **What gender do you think The Once-ler's baby is? A boy? Or a girl?**

 **Let me know in the review section, and keep reading to see if you're right!**

 **Staaaay tuned...**


	15. My First Employee Part Two

***Whew!* That was quite a hectic flashback, wasn't it?**

 **So, we've seen The Once-ler (finally) get noticed on his Thneed and we learned why Rika is here in the forest (sort of).**

 **By the way, Pipsqueak's older sister, Melody, is named after the OC of 'Melody Flynn and the OWCA', a _Phineas & Ferb _fanfic by fellow user VibeQuake :D **

**Keep reading to hear the next part of how The Once-ler hired his first ever employee!**

* * *

Chapter Fifteen: My First Employee Part Two

( _Mid-September, 1969, just about five days after the massive influx of people FINALLY notice and order their own Thneeds_ )

 ***The (Past!) Once-ler's POV***

I was right about the massive inundation of Thneed orders, and I'm _really_ glad I decided to call on the first day and tell my family to come over. They should be here any minute now, and I'll bet I can get them started right away. The Lorax and the other animals are milling around outside my tent. Mustache seemed a little irritated when I called and told my family to come over.

 _Has he SEEN how many orders I've been given, in the last few weeks alone? There's no way I can pull all that off on my own!_ I think to myself. Besides I _promised_ I wouldn't chop down any trees and my family wouldn't either, so what other damage could we possibly _do_?

Other than the forest gang, I haven't seen Rika at all for the past few days. She hasn't left, though - one of the Swomee-Swans flew over a portion of town and saw her lugging two heavy-looking bags of what look like groceries. I believe she's planning on staying for a spell.

I hear Melvin whine and what sounds like the traveling tunes we used to listen to on road trips. I also hear a Humming-Fish go 'Whoooaaaa...' so that means one thing: _They're here._

I go outside and sure enough, the RV is out front. Everyone milling outside has gathered around to see, Pipsqueak is behind my legs, and Mustache is beside me, looking a little curious. The RV's side door opens and out steps Aunt Grizelda.

"What a dump." She says flatly.

"Hey, Aunt Grizelda!" I wave. Brett and Chet are out next and, being the dumbos I know, mistake Rodney for a FOOTBALL and THROW him a few feet (which, judging by The Lorax's hoarse gag-like noise beside me, is a _very_ dangerous thing to do!). Thank goodness Rodney is able to grab onto a small tree, let go and land on Chet - who ran _into_ the tree.

"HA HA! He TOTALLY ran into that tree!" Brett laughs before giving me a high-five of sorts. I'm all for high-fives, but the twins' _really hurt_.

" _Owww_..." I groan, holding my hand in pain, but I quickly ignore it after hearing my mom and then am hugged by my Uncle Ubb.

"Okay," I say after getting him off me, "You're all here and you work for me, so, let's get to work!" My mom shouts for my brothers to start setting up the RV so all of them would have a place to sleep until more permanent arrangements can be made.

But that must be crossing a line with The Lorax, because he puts the brakes on me. "Nobody's moving in here! You gotta go, goodbye!"

"So who invited the giant furry peanut?" My aunt pronounces the word 'peanut' slower, which just irks him.

"You callin' me a peanut, huh? I'll go right up your nose!"

"Ha!" My aunt shoves her large purse into my uncle's arms as she and The Lorax move in to begin having out it with each other. _This is NOT going so well..._

I quickly move in between them and attempt to settle them down and end up having to pull Mustache aside. "This is my family," - _For better or worse_ \- "and I'm gonna need their help if my company's gonna to get bigger. Okay?"

"Bigger?" The Lorax looks at me oddly. I detect a note of concern so I tell him what my ultimate vision is: A world filled with Thneeds!...But that doesn't seem to help.

He sighs. "Which way does a tree fall?"

 _Odd turn here_. "Uh, down?" _Where else would it go, up?_

"A tree falls the way it leans," he replies softly, "be careful which way you lean." Then he turns and walks away.

Something about his attitude towards me and my newfound recognition is starting to make me feel uneasy, but I FINALLY have the start of what I've been looking for, so I'm not _about_ to let that go!

 _I'll bet he's only miffed about my family being here,_ I think as I head back in and make some notes, _Yeah, I'm sure that's it._ I'm sure with time The Lorax, animals, and the rest of my family get on a more _civil_ basis. Besides, it's not we're gonna be throwing wild parties or anything.

( _Two weeks later, the beginning of October_ )

Two weeks, and orders have SKYROCKETED, holy moly. With so much money coming in, I was able to work out pay rather easily and am currently in the process of designing an actual _building_ for us and others to work in. Speaking of others, I have a feeling Rika is still wandering around because I've heard her voice from a distance.

I highly doubt my family will object. _Especially if they want to keep their jobs.  
_

I'm about to go out and take a lunch break when Mom comes in. "Oncie, I just heard exciting news! That famous scientist Yartseva in town!" _Huh, speak of the devil!_ "And she's looking for a job!" ( **1** )

"You mean Rika?"

I think I surprise her a bit. "Y-yes. Did she have brown hair, brown eyes? Talk a mile a minute?"

"Yeah. Who is she?"

"She's only the daughter of a famous scientist, and is a _child prodigy_ to boot!"

"I already got that part from the fact that she has already graduated-"

"Well, what are you waiting for? Go and hire her!" Mom insists - though her voice hints at something else.

"But shouldn't I-?"

"But _nothing_ , Oncie. If you hire this woman, she will increase your prestige by a long shot!" _Wow, that was easier than I thought!_

After quickly finishing lunch, I head out to find Rika. I'm not exactly sure where she is at, but judging by the good weather, I suspect she is outside, probably doing more plant experiments. I look around the forest area and though I hear voices of the animals, I don't hear any other people other than my family's voices in the distance. Eventually I come to this small cliff side and look down into this wide open field part of the area and sure enough, there's Rika with her back turned toward me.

"Ugh, _still_ no change in these _Lilium_ _canadense_! It's like something is blocking their crossbreeding from taking place!" She smacks a notebook down in annoyance. That's when I notice she has this blonde long-haired doll in red sitting on a rock next to her. ( **2** )

"I have a feeling I am spinning my metaphorical wheels. What do you think?" She moves her arms forward and then I hear _My name is Talky Tina, and I love you very much_ \- What. The. HECK? "That's JUST what I was thinking!" she replies. ( **3** )

"R-rika?" I manage to ask. Her head pops up and turns around.

"Oh, hey, Sticks! How you been? Things have _finally_ seemed to turn around for you and your Thneed things, especially with ALL THOSE PEOPLE coming out here!"

As she's saying this, she is literally RIGHT IN MY FACE so all I can really think is _Too close, too close, WAY TOO CLOSE! Privacy is being violated!_

"Did you need something?" she finishes. _Thank goodness_...

"Yes, yes, I do," I say before she can start talking again, "Would you like to come work for me?"

Her eyes go really wide but I manage to explain about how quickly money has come in so I would be able to effectively hire her. Unfortunately, this is how I ran into another problem.

"So what would I do?" she asks.

 _Crud, didn't think about that. She's a scientist, not a manual laborer! _"Well," I blush with embarrassment, "to be honest, I don't really _have_ any jobs that might be suited for your abilities. Although..." Something has come to me. "I am not really being used for hats, tightropes, and other things are ALL the Thneed can do - but I'm not sure how I would go about finding that out. And I DON'T want to test on a customer!"

"I could test their properties! I could find out what Thneeds can do!"

"Really? That would be GREAT," I say in much relief. Because I was getting nervous there for a minute! "Then you're hired."

She immediately cheers...and then she jumps over and HUGS ME. _Crushing...me...!_

* * *

( _Back to the present: It has been several hours after Ted and Audrey leave. The Once-ler and the animals are getting ready for bed._ )

 ***The Once-ler's POV***

 _What was so surprising about her other doll?_ is what Lou seems to be trying to say.

"That doll came from an episode of a TV series that was really popular when I was a kid. Tina may look sweet and innocent, but she was rather...vindictive towards those she didn't like."

 _Did anyone ever find out?_ Anna wonders.

"The main character found that out the _really_ hard way - and his wife sees the aftereffects."

Everyone titters about this for a bit, and then we all pack it in for the night. I haven't heard from The Lorax or any of the others that went with him, so (hopefully!) everything is working out okay over there. But after a few fitful hours, I get up silently and wander downstairs. I don't know whether it's because of the animals snoring (which some do rather audibly!), the fact that Mustache and a few others MIGHT be in danger, or that _WE_ MIGHT be in danger, OR about the fact that they almost caught wind of my big secret.

I sit on my couch and look at the front of the red book in my hands. I've been keeping it closer than ever since I nearly got caught, but how much should I tell Ted and Audrey? And how much longer are the others gonna buy my lies or contain their curiosity?

 _Forget it, Once-ler,_ I think. _You need to focus on the now. There's someone or some group of people harassing you. Wondering and worrying is NOT gonna make that go away._

I ease my way into as comfortable a spot on the couch as I can make for still tall frame, with my album in my arms like a stuffed animal. Eventually, I drift off to sleep.

* * *

 **The Once-ler has his FIRST EVER NON-RELATED EMPLOYEE! *fanfare* Isn't that exciting!? :D**

 **1) I originally intended _not_ to give Rika a last name, but that would be a little difficult if she is this famous science prodigy. Her last name 'Yartseva' is the feminine form of the Russian surname 'Yartsev'. According to Wikipedia, it is derived from _Yarets,_ which means 'bright'. Fitting, eh? XD  
**

 **2) You can find this doll if you play the Nintendo DS game _Magician's Quest: Mysterious Times_. _Lilium canadense_ is a native plant from the eastern United States, whose flower buds and roots were traditionally gathered by North American indigenous peoples. It looks somewhat similar to a few of the flowers you see in _The Lorax_ movie. **

**3) She's baaaaack! Talky Tina is the creepy doll from the 1960s TV series _The Twilight Zone_. Her episode 'Living Doll' first aired on the first of November, 1963.  
**

 **Here in this story, this is the ORIGINAL, the one that was in the show. I've tried to find out what happened to the original for real, but there doesn't appear to be any records about what happened to her. I found one website - twilightzone dot org - that talks about how most of the props used for the show ended up in really terrible condition and were thrown out. As for Tina, the site believes she was an ALTERED PROP - made out of an existing Vogue Brickette doll.**

 **For more info, go to the site and find the page 'Where Have All the Props Gone?' or simply type in 'what happened to the original talky tina doll' into Google :D  
**

 **Next: The Lorax has found some evidence! And things get more and more anxious for our favorite valley residents! Plus, some more of The Once-ler and Rika, this time at a wild party!**

 **Don't forget to leave your guess as to the gender of The Once-ler baby!**

 **Staaay tuned...**


	16. When Pranks Devolve

**Another flashback completed! Rika is a bit of an oddball, isn't she?**

 **Now that we've seen how The Once-ler hired his first ever non-blood relative, let's return to the present for a while to see The Lorax and the others return…..**

 **WARNING: There are gonna be some conversations, events, and cursing (including here) in the upcoming chapters that might not be suitable for some. Reader discretion is advised!**

* * *

Chapter Sixteen: When Pranks Devolve

( _The morning of March 12_ _th_ _._ )

 ***The Once-ler's POV***

 _Mmmmfph_ …

*Bump!*

"….Hmmuph?" I slowly open my gum-filled eyes. _What time is it?_ The room is light but not super bright so it must be a bit after sunrise. Did something bump against my door?

 _Ugh, I am so NOT a morning person_ …I groggily get up and make my way to the door, reaching out to grab the handle and rub my eyes with the other. I open the door, and find The Lorax there. He has his hand up like he was about to knock.

"What the heck IS all that?" I look down at the pile in front of me that I assume he (and the others, by the grossed-out looks on their faces) hauled _all the way here_. It's a pile full of dirty cans, dirt, boxes, and God knows what else. And it _**reeks**_ too!

"This is what some kind being decided to pile up on me at 3:24 AM yesterday," he says with a VERY heavy dose of sarcasm, "And the REST of it," he gestures behind him where there's another pile that's slightly larger, "is from today."

I bring them all in to rest from their journey, and the ones in my room wake up and welcome their loved ones back home. Mustache and me look through the photos he took (the beginning portions included some _hilarious_ selfies!). This is a real bummer, but at least my friends won't really HAVE to be going back there. Trees have been planted again and, due to their as-of-yet-unexplained faster growth pattern, most of the Truffulas have some fruit - of varying sizes - on them now. Plus, I have some food they'll eat.

Now for the 'fun' part: We have to lug all this junk to the nearest available dumpster. _Terrific_...

( _Mid-morning. The Once-ler, Lorax, and a few animals are walking back home_ )

THAT was probably one of the grossest things I've ever done. If I ever come back in another life, I am NOT becoming a garbage man! In front of me, the animals that helped us are picking at their fur/feathers trying to find any dirt or grime left over. I promised those who lugged it all the way here and all the way to the dumpster that they can use my shower to wash. Beside me, Mustache is talking.

"Do you think we stumbled on one of those 'dumping sites'?"

"Perhaps...or it might be someone who is using another property without permission-"

I'm not quite sure what happens but the next thing I know, I'm looking at the sky, listening to The Lorax's voice continue, but getting a little further away by the second. I can my body is now folded in some weird way, I feel like I am folded backwards and I've formed a triangle-shaped passage.

 _Then_ the pain starts. In confusion and pain, I can only make this 'eeee' sound which everyone hears right away and they all scramble back. No one can actually LIFT me so they push me on one of my sides, which they do, and an _enormous_ relief comes over my body. It _really_ _stinks_ getting old!

"Hey, I think you're caught on somethin'!" Mustache says. As I push myself up to a sitting position, I can hear him pulling on the length of my coat's tail and hear 'clank clank' against one of the rocks.

"Hang on..." I manage to twist myself around and get over to look between the rocks where the clanking is coming from. I feel along my coat's length as I do this and I get to something metal, so I pull it until...

"(LT): _What_ is THAT?" Sina the Humming-Fish asks. _Oh. Crap._

( _Back at home, everyone is sitting around while the metal thing - shown to be a rusty-looking animal trap - is on the living room table._ )

"It's an animal trap." I say, as I'm handing out a wet towel for everyone to clean up with.

"AN ANIMAL TRAP?" Mustache sounds totally appalled.

"Yeah..." _Oh, boy, this is awkward. How am I gonna explain THIS?_ "But it's a very old one." I'm pretty sure that's right; I know practically nothing about hunting and such.

"(LT): How's it work?" Anna asks after a pause.

"The way it works is," I say, going over to demonstrate, "you're supposed to step on it -"

"(LT): STEP on it?" Lou repeats.

"Yep, the idea is you're supposed to step on the switch and it will clamp on your leg." I show them this by using one of my ceramic vases. It doesn't hold its grip (obviously) but it does make an audible 'plink'. ( **1** )

"Didn't you tell me once hunting was illegal around here?" The Lorax asks.

"It is, and to my knowledge, still is," - let's face it, none of the animals here are exactly 'big-game material' - "I'm thinking that someone tried to skirt that rule, and either got caught, or for some reason forgot about this one. And so it's been sitting there ever since." Considering how rusty this thing looks, that sounds like the most plausible explanation.

( _That Friday, March 16th_ )

Mid-afternoon has The Lorax heading out to inspect the tree that's growing in the center of town in...some form or another - I'm not really sure how Mustache does this without being seen! Most of the animals are playing outside, down near the factory. The rest of us are inside. We're waiting for Audrey to deliver a care package she and her parents put together for me. Ted is staying home today, to help his mother prepare food for the Sabbath service tonight ( **2** ).

*Knock knock!* "Hey, Audrey, come on in!" I call. She comes in.

"Hi, Mr. Once-ler! Guess what, guess what?" She sounds super giddy as she puts her things down and pulls out something from her small handbag to show me. "I got my Driver's License! I drove all the way out here myself!"

"That's great, Audrey!" She have to show me the car she drives when she leaves. That way, I'll know when she - or her family - are here.

"Where should I put my backpack?"

"Oh, just put it by the door." I lift the two bags she bought over onto the counter.

Despite being a few feet from the front windows, I can hear the distinctive vrooming and engine noise of a motorcycle. _Since when did Ted upgrade to that?_

Then all hell breaks loose.

The window closet to Audrey suddenly shatters and spews glass everywhere. Audrey screams and it alerts the animals around the room. _Then_ I hear a loud THUMP against the front door. In a flash, I run over and grab Audrey. "Get down!" I shove her down on the ground by the couch in the center of the room where the younger animals are. I keep one of the axes by the side of the door.

Before I can stop myself, I run over, pick it up, and rush out, yelling " _Who threw that?!"_ I notice a person on a small white motorcycle, who, noticing me, nearly falls off their small white motorcycle in their rush to get away. _Guess they weren't expecting me to practically rush them with a axe!_ I glance to my right and see this rock I presume was thrown at my door. What else can I do but pick it up and throw it as hard I can to the person's retreating backside?

Soon after, the police are at my place for the third time in nearly a month. If this wasn't so _dangerous_ , I would laugh myself to tears. Thank Heaven Audrey wasn't hurt - though she got nicked by the glass, none of it hit her hard to cause an actual cut (plus, she's wearing long sleeves and such so I think that covered her too!). Eventually, the police leave, telling me they'll drive by my way every day to watch for anyone suspicious and Audrey is taken back home.

The moment the last person disappears from my view, The Lorax pops out of one of the tree stumps down my driveway.

"What happened?" he demands. _Oh, man, sounds like he hasn't fared much better..._

He hasn't. He told me someone _painted_ the bark of the tree growing in town and left a big black X all around the length of the trunk.

"Almost like the one left on my door..." I say when he finishes.

"Yep. I think whoever's doin' this is serious and _not_ too thrilled about us being here." It's safe to say that this is officially _not_ the work of your average prankster anymore.

* * *

 **Uh-oh! That was a close call for Audrey, right? It looks like this 'pranks' have OFFICIALLY devolved into intimidation. But why? :O**

 **1) The kind of animal trap in this story is called a leg hold and it works exactly like The Once-ler says. Depending on the animal, there are various sides made. For more info, go to Wikipedia and you will find it in the 'Trapping' entry.  
**

 **2) The _Shabbat_ is the Jewish version of Sunday service, and it takes place on Friday night. The idea is to refrain from doing heavy duty work and instead reflect on life's spiritual aspects and spend time with family. I attended a service once for a Anthropology class and it was nice :D **

**You are probably wondering WHY I am making Ted and his family Jewish. This is due to TV Tropes XD**

 **Joking aside, I DO give some of my OCs a specific religion. There WILL be mentions of these and even some church authority figures will be shown from time to time. If you're uncomfortable with this, don't read any further!**

 **IMPORTANT NOTICE: As of right now, this story is on hiatus until Thanksgiving, which is the week of the 23rd of November. School is gonna be starting up soon for me, and it's going to be very difficult for me to handle this story and homework.  
**

 **My other story 'The New Seeds' will most likely be on hiatus too after the next chapter release.**

 **Staaaaay tuned...**

 **P.S. Don't forget to leave your guess as to the gender of The Once-ler baby! And also tell me about the characters so far. Do you like them? Am I doing their characterization good so far?  
**


	17. Your Secret Is (Not) Safe (Anymore)

_**(Friday, March, the 23**_ _ **rd**_ _ **. Follow scene from sky down to THE ONCE-LER and THE LORAX both sitting on chairs on the front porch. THE LORAX is upside down.)**_

 **The Lorax: "What do you think is gonna happen now?"  
**

 **The Once-ler ( _confused_ ): "Why are you asking _me_ that question?"**

 **The Lorax: "It's been _twelve whole chapters_ since either of us has had a direct talk to the audience - er, I mean _readers_ \- like this, and I'm hoping they're not gettin' too spooked by this."**

 **The Once-ler ( _in quiet realization_ ): "Oh...Right...( _more normally_ ) Well, we're here now - so let's start the story." ( _Directs the camera towards the proper angle_ ) **

* * *

Chapter Seventeen: "Your Secret is (Not) Safe (Anymore)"

 ***The Once-ler's POV***

"If you'd told me that one day we'd be sittin' on your porch, waiting for some nut to come out here and get us, I woulda said you were crazy!" The Lorax says from his chair next to mine. The two of us have been sitting here all morning while the animals are below the hill near the old factory. I am so _bored_. I think that's why Mustache has taken to laying upside down, for 'a change of perspective' or something like that.

"If you told me something like this would happen when I was CEO of my company, I _still_ would've said you were crazy." I mutter.

"That's _just_ what I was thinking..." is his response.

A week has gone by since all of us have officially gotten the message that someone is officially after us. And for the life of me, I cannot figure out _why_. It's not like I've done anything _else_ that would get anybody's goat, and I highly doubt The Lorax and the animals have either. And speaking of the animals, the adults and near-adults are in deep discussion right now. Mating season is about to start in the next month or two.

 _Joy_. I rub my eyes in an attempt to stay awake. As much as I'd loved to see new baby animals from my friends, I don't think this is the time to be bringing them into this world. _At the same time, how am *I* the one to talk?_

"Which part of this place did Rika work at?" Mustache asks suddenly, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Huh? What?"

"I said, where did Rika work here? You told us how you hired her, but you didn't get to what she _did_."

"Oh...I guess I didn't, did I?" I sit up a little straighter. "Have you ever gone on the road leading out and went to the left?"

"I don't think so, that would take us the closet to the town border and none of us ever ventured that way unless we really needed to."

"Well, if you did," I say leaning forward enough to look out that direction, "you would have run into a three-story building with lots more chimneys than the factory here, that's the place where I set her up. She would also live there most of the time. The whole third floor was her living area, and you had to have her buzz you in."

"If I remember what, you needed some kinda pass to get into the building at all. Why?" He's rolled over to face me, no longer sounding bored.

"Because there were pretty dangerous chemicals there, and having them required strict rules to follow."

"What would she DO there?" _Seems like he's really weirded out by this._

"The people - who were also scientists of some sort - would test Truffula tufts to figure out certain aspects, like what they could do, how much they could withstand, and what they could withstand and for how long-"

"Is this the _non_ -scientific description?" he asks with a teasing grin.

I snicker softly. "You bet! Don't worry - none of them, including Rika, were doing this at random. I would give her a set of work orders every week or so and she would bring me her reports and we would create Thneeds from there."

"Is the building still there?"

"Part of it is," my smile fades, "After everything shut down and everyone had left, whatever they were using there was repossessed and the building must have been - eventually - abandoned. There's some graffiti on it and most of the windows on the ground level are broken or missing entirely."

"Are you going by that place today?" Mustache asks, but then looks sorry. I have to return the library books today and also need to get some groceries. With a nutcase on the loose, going out of range is _not_ advisable.

 _And what if I run into them in the town?_ This makes me nervous, but I take a breath. For me to do my errands today, I'm gonna have to take a leap of faith: I'm gonna have to trust the people in town to help me if something goes hairy. They _have_ been kind to me so far...

I give The Lorax instructions on what to do if something happens while I'm gone, if Ted or Audrey come by, or if I am not home by three-thirty (rough estimate, though I'm HOPING I won't be that long!). I also promised I would take a picture or two of the old lab ("Don't risk it if you aren't able to." Mustaches warns me).

No one harasses me when I drop the books in the library's book return. There's a small outlet store near the town border and I stop there to pick up a few things. As I'm standing at the register watching my stuff get put away, I hear an (unfortunately) unmistakable voice from somewhere behind me.

 _Ah, shit_ , what am I gonna - oh, thank goodness, the cashier is done! I quickly pick up my stuff and leave. A little ways down the road I took a breath of relief, and then-

"Hey," a man's voice comes from DIRECTLY BEHIND ME and something touches my SHOULDER. Now this should tell you something: It should tell you this guy is as tall as ME. And probably STRONGER, too! I turn around to look. And _holy moly_ , this guy looks like he's the leader of a, a, _biker gang_ or something!

I make a 'eep'-sounding noise and bring up one of my bags against his chest. This causes the man to stumble backward and gives me the chance to run off, which I take _FULL ADVANTAGE OF!_

( _Several minutes later, The Once-ler has stopped running and is resting by the old lab_ )

*Hah* *hah* _It sucks getting old_...I am in relatively good shape for my age and experience, but I can't run as much anymore. At least I got away from that creepy-looking guy!

Where am I anyway? I look around and find I'm right next to the lab. I guess I can get those pictures for the gang now. I begin taking cell phones pictures, glancing around every few moments to make sure the coast is clear. But as I start walking home...

"Returned to the scene of your only real accomplishment?" Oh. My. Gosh. Are you _SERIOUS?_ I turn around and _of course_ I see O'Hare standing behind me a little ways. He's dressed differently, which is momentarily bizarre because I've never seen him in any casual clothing before.

"I DID always think this place was the only good thing about your whole... _venture_." He grins, walking toward me a little.

Oh, _NO_. I am _NOT_ falling for this again! I won't even dignify that crack with a _RESPONSE_. I turn my back on him and start walking away again.

"I'm surprised more people aren't coming out of the woodwork with stuff about you." Oh man, is this guy gonna follow me or something?

"With what?" I say as disinterestedly as I possibly can.

"What ELSE, man? Your sex life, that's what!"

THAT makes me stop. I turn to look at him.

"Blame tabloids, not me. However," he walks in front of my path so I can't move past. "From what I know of you, you seem like someone who'd _definitely_ spread himself around, especially after you've skyrocketed to fame in a matter of days..." He leans forward slightly, as if I'm a kid or someone whose, like, Ted's height or something.

 _Dear Lord, this guy's got no shame, I swear_. "You're disgusting, you know that?"

I immediately regret that, because his expression changes into something more sinister.

"REALLY?" He gets this sly grin. "I doubt you were here 'discussing business' here, in this building. Every. Single. Day. For nearly three years."

"Are you accusing me of something, O'Hare? Because if you're not, get lost."

I start walking past him, but that little weasel! He keeps trying to walk backwards within my direction.

"O'Hare, get out of my way!" I say in frustration.

"How many girlfriends did you have?"

"None of _YOUR_ business, that's how many!"

"How many did you have to pay off?"

 _What?!_ "What the hell's THAT supposed to mean?!"

"It means this: Nearly nine months after you go bust, one of your 'scientists' from this building gave birth-"

"What does that have to do with me?"

"That the baby looked a LOT like you - so, did you have a thing goin' on on the side? Or did you send them off because underneath all the suits and money and glamour you were this dorky, uneducated kid who couldn't even FATHOM talking to women - maybe that's why you waited until then. Because no other woman would give a pass let alone a f-"

I slam my bags down and lean toward O'Hare who flinches, visibly startled.

"I don't know what kind of mind games you're tryin' to play, O'Hare, but **_this conversation is over. Goodbye._** " I pick my bags up and push past him and begin my walk home.

"Do you think your baby's gonna be happy that you're still here?"

I stop in my tracks. _How did, how DOES, he know that?! He couldn't-!_ I turn to look at him but he's walked several feet away. Before he's out of sight, though, he turns towards me and gives me The Finger. He also gives me that same sneaky, sinister grin I've now seen three times in my life. _**THIS**_ one, however, tops all the rest, because it gives me a VERY clear warning.

 _My secret isn't safe._

* * *

( _After The Once-ler runs off, the supposed 'biker gang leader' stares at his retreating back until he turns a corner and disappears._ )

( _"Poor man," the guy thinks as he dusts himself off and looks at something in his hands. "I wonder how Little Sis will think of this..."_ )

* * *

 **In the first of my two-part surprise, things have taken a nasty turn! Poor Once-ler...:O**

 **But what does O'Hare truly know about the situation? More importantly, HOW does he know about the situation? And what will The Once-ler do now?**

 **Plus, who is the mysterious man, the supposed 'biker gang leader'?**

 **In our next chapter, we will hear more about Rika! And don't forget to leave your guess as to the gender of the Once-ler baby!  
**

 **Staaaaay tuned...**


	18. How I REALLY Came To My Lerkim

**In the previous chapter, we have had another encounter with O'Hare, who says he not only knows** _ **what**_ **The Once-ler's secret is but also seems to know** _ **WHO**_ **it is! (This guy's a real pill, isn't he?)**

 **Read on for more pieces of the puzzle!**

* * *

Chapter Eighteen: Why I REALLY Came to my Lerkim

 ***The Once-ler's POV***

 _How'd I get back here?_ I wonder when I take a glance around. After my not-so-veiled warning from O'Hare, my mind has been in a fog. I'm not sure how I have managed to get back home.

And I'm so...so...STUCK, that despite my efforts, I start to cry, burying my head in my hands. I must shock The Lorax and animals, who gather around me.

 ***The Lorax's POV***

I knew something was wrong before Bean-Pole even got close to the house. We left the window open slightly - as he said to do - so I could hear the Truffula saplings and whatever grass there is around here call out to me, saying that Bean-Pole was coming back home and something seemed different about him.

When he gets in, he's real quiet and doesn't really respond to any questions. All he does after letting the bags down is sit on one of the kitchen stools and just sit there with his head in his hands. A few seconds later, I - and everyone else, for that matter - can hear his muffled crying.

One part of me says _Sheesh, hasn't he done enough of that for one lifetime?_ but the other half feels sorry for him. What could have possibly happened to make Bean-Pole so upset?

 ***The Once-ler's POV***

I slow myself down on crying, particularly when Pipsqueak hops on my shoulder after climbing on the counter. From the small table by the back window, The Lorax starts talking.

"So...what happened?"

"O'Hare..." I groan. The atmosphere shifts and becomes a little more tense.

"(LT): What did HE want?" Anna grumbles.

"(LT): Does he really _need_ anything if all he wants to do is just drive 'em crazy?" Lou points out ( _correctly,_ might I add!).

"Hush now!" Mustache quiets everyone down and continues. "What did he say to you?"

 _Aw, man! NOW what do I do? If I tell them what O'Hare truly is after..._

"Yo." Mustache snaps me back into the present. "Are you gonna tell us what happened?"

I tell them about how my errands starting off real well, and then hearing O'Hare's voice in one of the stores, and my encounter with the strange biker dude.

"THEN I get to the lab building," I continue, "It was deserted so I started taking pictures. But O'Hare...that, that...little _bastard!_ " I kick the counter behind my stool (my legs are long enough to effectively do that) in anger, and everyone except Mustache visibly flinches. I turn to the counter.

"He says...he says he knows about something I did, way back when..."

"(LT): Oooh, what could it be? It is something big like-" Pippa begins but Ellie wraps her arm around and puts her paw on Pippa's mouth. "(LT): Quiet, Pippa!" she whispers firmly.

"Bean-Pole, be serious. What have you done back then that everyone here in this room doesn't _already_ know about?" The Lorax asks.

 _A lot,_ I think semi-bitterly. "But-"

"But _nuthin'_. I'm sure there's a lot you don't wanna talk about, and we won't ask. Besides, what happened then is over, and done with - we're all back now and with a _few minor exceptions_ , everything is okay now."

It's basically an unspoken rule that what happened between me, The Lorax, and the animals is STRICTLY BETWEEN me, The Lorax, and the animals.

"Besides," Mustache continues, "and I don't mean to sound crass, but what secret could YOU possibly have that is crazy enough for O'Hare to want to potential blackmail you over? He _already_ figured out you had the last seed, and he epically failed at destroying it!"

"(LT): It isn't dangerous, whatever he wants, right?" Pipsqueak pats me, on my ear. He wandered up to my shoulder.

 _I hope not._ "I don't think so..."

"GOOD. Whatever he wants can't possibly affect anything now. As far as I can tell, he doesn't have any legs to stand on anymore."

 _Right_...I turn my back to everyone in an attempt to gather my thoughts.

"(LT): Ya know, I find bizarre how everyone else gave O'Hare the job of being Mayor in the first place." Skipper comments.

"(LT): It seems kinda odd no one gave thought about what YOU thought of his business and all..." Bill says and I turn so my side's to everyone, "(LT): I mean, even if they were just going to chew you out." he finishes.

"Yeah, there's a reason for that...O'Hare," I feel cold for some reason, "he's why I came out here to live."

There's quiet in the room. "Uhhhh," Mustache says, "so you _weren't_ living out here all this time?"

"No. I wasn't." I shake my head shortly. "After...you left..."

 _I tried to find someone who could help me, but my family had left, the rest of you fled, and I could only find Rika, who was for once, actually clueless about where to go from here..._

"Rika stayed too?! But why-"

"Don't worry, I'm gettin' to that!"

 _It turns out she still had an apartment that she rented when she first came to town, so the two of us...became roommates._

I sigh. "That was a...difficult time. I read how some people were angry with me, and I mean _beat-me-as-soon-as-they-saw-me_ angry. Rika, well, she was a little more behind-the-scenes but she was still getting gump for it. 'You'd think a scientist would know better' someone had said."

 _The two of us had tried to think of some way, ANY way, that we could plant the seed. But..._

"But...?" The Lorax urges on.

"Rika doesn't - or didn't - work as effectively without scientific equipment. Without her lab stuff, she was utterly at a loss for how to help me. So only a short time later, she moved out."

That catches everyone by surprise.

"(LT): What happened to you then? You're on your own in a town that's turned against you!" Lou exclaims.

"That I was, but don't blame her for it!"

 _I thought there maybe some people who wanted the trees back badly enough to team up with the moron that cut them all down, and thankfully they were all right in the apartment building. One lady even thought she had the perfect site to plant the seed and keep it protected until it grew its own seeds..._

 _But when we got there..._

"O'Hare found you first." Mustache finishes. I've started shaking. I **hate** remembering this because I honestly thought I was going to _die_.

"Yes," I say, wiping my eyes, "he drove us off and I was so scared, I hid in my room for at least a week. As time went on, I notice noises that I learned were from my neighbors - well, because with apartments, you have to keep noise to a certain minimum - got more and more quiet. I managed to gather enough courage to look around the building, and that's how I found out _I was the only one living there_."

"They all LEFT?!" Everyone exclaims.

"Yep," _And I don't blame them one bit!_ "It was creepy, to be totally honest, but at least I could make as noise as I wanted. But then...I got a visitor."

 _It was O'Hare, looking a little more official than before. He told me I wasn't really welcome here anymore and wanted me out. I told him to buzz off - but the fact that he also had those two guards with him dissuaded me from doing anything else. He gave me three days to leave town...and with his tone, I got the feeling something bad would happen to me if I didn't._

"That's when I knew there was no way I was gonna be able to stay in town and be able to figure out how to bring you guys back at the same time. So I left, and came out here."

No one says anything, but I'm sure everyone knows O'Hare will _definitely_ pull no punches to get what he wants. That night I let Mustache and the animals have my room to themselves. I sit on the couch with the red album on the table in front of me.

 _Brilliant maneuver, Once-ler. You've managed to twist the situation._

 _At least they got part of the story that was true! _

My mind conjures up Rika and her advice but as usual, it's _Why don't you tell them? They would love to know about-_

 _Absolutely NOT._ I slowly slide onto my side. _Besides, it's bad enough O'HARE already knows..._

( _The next day, Saturday, March_ _24th, around noon_ )

"Are you...feeling okay, Mr. Once-ler?" Whoever that crazy motorcyclist was, O'Hare or someone else, hasn't deterred Audrey from coming out and having lunch with me. "Your face has..." She gestures to under her eyes.

 _She must mean the bags_. "I didn't sleep much last night."

"Oh," she says, sounding a bit relieved, "at least it doesn't seem like a cold. There's been a bunch of kids who are sick in my school lately. Even Ted's got something," she fiddles with her phone, "See? He sent a picture."

"Ew, poor kid..." And I mean it, he looks so snotty and puny!

"So I take it hearing more about Rika is off for today?" She asks a little awkwardly. Audrey wants to hear the rest of the story, but is unsure if I would continue without Ted.

"I suppose I could tell you more, but you gotta tell Ted what you've heard today, okay?"

"Okay!"

"Well, I feel just like what she must've felt - sleepy. I thought she was weird enough, but then I found out-"

* * *

 **And here is Part Two of my Thanksgiving surprise!  
**

 **So it looks like The Once-ler was trying to solve the problem with Rika's help, but it didn't work out. And I imagine the town wouldn't be particularly happy with either of them, but I'm hoping that'd be at least that would (albeit reluctantly) help them!**

 **Part of O'Hare's threatening of The Once-ler is based off another user's imagining of the immediate aftermath of the forest's destruction. Check out CallMeLy's story _Do You Remember The Once-ler?_ :D**

 **This story is now In-Progress once again, and 'The New Seeds' will restart once this story is done!**

 **Don't forget to leave your guess as to the gender of the Once-ler baby!**


	19. Regulating The Pump Part One

**SCHOOL'S OUT! At least until early January!**

 **Boy, am I glad! I have SO much to catch up on, including this story :O**

 **So I left off on a cliffhanger where our good old Once-ler was going to tell Audrey more about Rika. What does he have to say?**

 **Let's find out!**

* * *

Chapter Nineteen: "Regulating" The Pump Part One

( _Early April, 1971. The Once-ler's factory has been built, and though the sky isn't totally smoggy, most of the trees near the factory and future Lerkim have been cut down. The Once-ler is pacing/waiting in his office._ )

 ***The (Past!) Once-ler's POV***

 _WHERE is she?!_

I've been waiting for Rika here for at least an hour now.

Usually, she has her reports sent over to me by now. Ever since business really started picking up over a year ago, we haven't seen much of one another. I'm usually busy here in my office and she's always in the lab building down the road. Emphasis on 'always', I don't think I've actually seen her _outside_ since I hired her.

I plop myself on my chair (no need about falling backwards off of it) for about two seconds, and then I get up and head out my office's double doors.

"Mom, hold my calls for me."

My mom looks up at me from her desk with a slightly surprised look. "You have no meetings today-"

"I'm going to see Rika myself. If she comes over while I'm gone, send Brett or Chet to find me, okay?"

I head off before she can respond. The building Rika works in is down the road a little ways and having never walked it, I don't know if I can even make it that way.

But I'm CEO of this company, and I can go anywhere on company property I _want_...within reason. There's a reason we have ID cards to get into the lab.

I have just gotten out the front doors and to the end of the entrance way, coming to the conclusion that I could hitch a ride on one of the outgoing delivery trucks when I hear a familiar voice.

"Yo, Bean-Pole." The Lorax is standing on one of the tree stumps on the left side of the building, with his arms crossed.

 _Just what I need..._ "I don't have _time_ for -" I begin before he interrupts me.

"You're gonna run _out_ of time sooner than you realize!" He growls at me. "There's less Truffula fruit now, and it stinks to high Heaven out here!" He hops off the stump and starts walking towards me. Out of the corner of my eye, I spot one of the trucks about to head off with its load of Thneeds.

"I'd love to stay and talk, Mustache, but I've got work to do." I grab hold on the side of the other door and give hand signals to its driver (who seems a little weirded out that I'm here or maybe it's because he hasn't opened the truck's window yet).

"Hey, I'm not finished with you!" I hear Mustache yell at me as the truck drives off in the direction of the lab. As I ride, I DO smell a lot of exhaust and smoke but there's no way to AVOID making that. Everyone is just going to have to adjust to it. Although I do feel bad that I broke the promise I made with Mustache, I can't see how chopping trees down could cause THAT much harm...

I arrive at the lab building soon enough. I hop off the side of the truck and wave a small signal to the driver to let him know I'm alright and then turn towards the building. I head to the door and ring its buzzer. The person on the other end asks for my ID...

* * *

Audrey's eyes widen. "What did you HAVE in there?"

"Nothin' radioactive, if that's what you're thinking," I wave in her direction while I sort glasses and stuff in my cabinets.

"I couldn't tell you what all was in there because I've long since forgotten. Besides," I say turning towards her, "I couldn't explain it to you even if I _did_ remember..."

* * *

"G-good afternoon, Mr. Once-ler! What can I do for you?" The secretary is surprised at my arrival - fitting, because I haven't actually _been_ here for anything other than tours or photo-shoots.

"I'm here for Rika. Do you know where she is?"

"I suspect she's still upstairs. No one has seen her for about a day."

I head to the elevator. To get to the third floor, you have to have Rika buzz you in from her end or you need a key to use for the switch in the elevator.

Thankfully, the key _I_ have lets me in anywhere so I don't fret about using it when I enter the elevator. On the third floor, the elevator is situated at the end of a hallway and there are several doors to different rooms. _Probably containing some type of experiment,_ I think.

Rika's 'office' and her living area is on the opposite side of the hall. Being polite, I knock at the door. "Rika?" I knock a bit louder. "Rika, where have you _been?_ I have been wai-" I open the door...and my mouth drops open in shock.

The room is kind of dark but I can still see that her office is a MESS! There are papers all over the floor!

 _What HAS she been doing?_ I think I lean forward to see if these are anything important and out of the corner of my eye I spot Rika... _laying face-forward on her desk!_

"Rika-!?" I immediately dash over to her and pick her up by her arms and am _just about_ to start attempting to get her to _talk_ when two things happen at the same time.

FIRST, she opens her mouth and lets out this (horrifically) loud snore.

SECOND, I almost DROP her because her breath _**reeks**_ **. _OH. MY. GOD._** I think as I turn and hide my nose in my arm.

( _A little while later..._ )

Rika did not stir the whole time I held her by the arms. She reminds me of those cartoon characters who are so caught up in dreaming and sleep they don't wake up. I (somehow!) manage to get her to her bedroom, which is through the door on the right next to her desk, and lay her as comfortably as I can in the rather small bed she has. I'm not really sure why all her papers are in shambles, but I decide to reorder them. I need SOMETHING to do while I wait for her to wake up...

Eventually, she stirs. I left the door propped open a little ways and I can hear her go "Huh, wha? When did I-? What time-?"

"It's a little past four." I call at her from her desk. I hear a small shuffling of her in her blankets and she appears at the door, looking a little MORE disheveled than before.

"I'm sorry, Sticks -" she still insists on calling me that - "I remember was working on the feasibility of using the leftover Truffula trunks as firewood, and I must've dozed off when I started measuring the amount -"

As Rika gets closer, I can see her condition more clearly. She's staggering a little, her eyes have noticeable bags under 'em and they look really frazzled and red, almost as if she hasn't slept -

 _Wait, hasn't slept?_ I cross my arms and ask, "Rika, when was the last time you slept?"

"Ahhhhh," she tilts her head back and shifts it from side to side, which is apparently what she does when she's thinking sometimes. "Okay, today's Thursday, and last night I was observing the celestial movements in the south. I spent all Tuesday night preparing and testing my equipment that night and before I knew it, it was Wednesday -"

This means she hasn't slept for _TWO DAYS_. As if on cue, her stomach growls. I raise my eyebrows. "Was Tuesday the last time you ate as well?"

"Mmhmmm," she tries to put on a brave face but looks rather embarrassed, "Yeah, maybe..." she finally admits.

I face-palm. This woman gets so caught up in her work that she not only forgets to eat and sleep, but _apparently **DOESN'T EVEN NOTICE.**_

 _Oh my gosh, what am I gonna DO with this woman? At the rate she's going, she'll work herself to death..._ That's a pretty scary thought, to be honest! There's only one solution I can think of: I have to get someone to make SURE she's eating...and sleeping. Speaking of eating...

"Rika, how is your evening schedule?"

"Busy. I still have to apply a solution to Tree No. 43, and then I have three others that need -"

"Clear your schedule and get someone ELSE to proctor them." I say promptly and as I'm doing so, I stand up, grab her shoulders and begin leading her towards the door.

"But, but, but -" she sputters in a way that reminds me of a chicken. That, and her eagerness is...cute, to be honest. "I still have reports to file!"

"You can file those AFTER you eat something. They're not gonna do you any good if you're starving."

I have my arm around her waist as we ride down the elevator. I greatly fear she won't be so lucky next time so I have to find someone who can watch over her, not all the time, but enough to make sure she's eating regularly and taking time for sleep.

There's one snag: None of my family will jump at this chance. Having a meal with Rika can be an... _interesting_ experience. I invited her over to have dinner with me and my family on the night she was hired. My mom in particular was super excited to meet her (apparently) famous co-worker. Now being a mom, she attempted to start telling Rika about me and my childhood and all that. I don't remember why but I'd left the room and before I re-entered, I overheard this:

 _'You know, Mrs. Ler, your family might be attempting some form of imprinting.'_

 _'Please, honey, call me Isabella. And what do you mean by that?' My mom's voice is chipper but obviously confused._

 _'Judging from what I can tell of your son, and by your arrival here, it sounds like the whole family is pinning past dreams onto this venture.'_

 _OH. MY. WORD. I almost start laughing my HEAD OFF - that's EXACTLY what they're after!  
_

If you could've seen me in that moment, you'd have seen me smile with all my pearly-whites in a maniacal fashion and noiselessly start laughing my head off.

* * *

 **I'm SO SO sorry, but I'm gonna be lazy/naughty and split this one into two (?) parts!**

 **But at least we now know just how seriously Rika takes her job! :D We'll hear more about this key The Once-ler has later on, and stay tuned if you wanna hear what the title of these chapters refer to!**

 **In our next chapter: The Once-ler tells us more about Rika's likes, her family, and also about two very important relatives of his!**

 **To those who celebrate it, I wish you a very Merry Christmas! And Boxing Day! And Kwanzaa!**

 **And a very Happy New Year's Eve/Day too!**

 **P.S. On my Profile Page, I have a Poll! (Finally!) Leave your guess there as to the gender of The Once-ler's baby!**


	20. Regulating The Pump Part Two

**IT'S 2018!**

 **Where HAS the time gone?!**

* * *

Chapter Twenty: "Regulating" The Pump Part Two

( _The next day, after The Once-ler discovers how Rika 'operates'_ )

 ***The (Past!) Once-ler's POV***

As I suspected, none of my family have jumped at the chance to volunteer for I secretly term 'Rika-Watch duty'. My mom feigned that it was because 'she wasn't as young as she used to be' and therefore couldn't keep up with her on a physical level.

Brett and Chet were more honest. They generally like Rika but her use of humongous and/or scientific terms _really_ freaks them out.

 _I can't say I necessarily blame 'em, though._

Anyways, me and Rika took to chatting during lunch break – which I made absolutely _sure_ was daily for her – and during that time, we talked about our life. She would speak rather…haltingly? Yeah, I think that's the right term.

"No need to be so nervous, Rika, we're on our lunch break!" I joked.

She smiles briefly and immediately gets nervous and starts speaking in a way that makes it obvious she's trying not to lose me. "I don't…have the, er, communicative properties that are necessary for the social interactions between our species…"

 _In other words, she must be really, really shy.  
_

That night, I went up to the roof of the factory and to my surprise I find her there with a telescope.

"Rika...?" I ask and she startles slightly.

"Oh, hello, Sticks, um...I was just observing the-"

"You were stargazing." I finish. She looks a little embarrassed. I wonder why, stargazing sounds fun.

"Y-yes. I've had to relegate that to being a hobby..." she trails off.

"Why's that?" I ask, feeling like I just dinged a nerve.

"My father said I always have my head up in the clouds and to be a good scientist I need to focus on what's happening _around_ me." She looks sad and turns away. "But others don't prefer my company. Even the children that would be termed as 'loners' didn't want to play with me."

 _Oh, man, what do I say to that?_ "So that's why I keep looking up. And of course stars don't go anywhere, so I always see those." she finishes.

"Not many other kids really wanted to play with me, either." I admit. As hard as it is and as unbelievable as consumers would believe it. "I was always teased because I really liked to knit, or that I would play guitar real off-note, or...the fact that I was rather poor and didn't have a father." That last phrase starts making my stomach area tense - not from sadness, though.

"...so, you've never had any friends?" Rika asks in small voice.

"Yes..." I admit. As unbelievable as the press and general public would find this, throughout my life, I have not had one single _human_ friend that _wasn't_ a relative.

"But the two of us could be friends." I add, not wanting to be in a down mood much longer.

"REALLY?!" she asks excitedly and when I nod, it makes her so happy she jumps over and - once again! - gives me a crushing hug. _HOW **DOES** THIS WOMAN HAVE THIS MUCH STRENGTH?!_

Thankfully, she lets go after a second or two. In the midst of me getting my bearings straight again, she asks me what my favorite constellation is. I was just about to tell her I really don't HAVE a favorite (and it's been a long time since I've read about them) but she suddenly yelps "Oooh, oooh, I found Polaris!"

* * *

( _That evening, in the present_ )

 ***The (Present!) Once-ler's POV***

"What's Polaris?" The Lorax asks me during dinner.

"It's another name for the North Star ( **1** )."

"That's always in the sky."

"That it is. She was attempting to look for another constellation, one called Antlia ( **2** )." I don't recall if we ever found it or not...

 _...But what I DO remember is that while we looking up at the North Star, Rika put her head on my shoulder (she's tall enough for that), which I thought was kinda weird. She shook her head so her hair massaged my neck and joked "Are you sure_ I'm _the one who needs a regular break?"_

 _I snickered. For some reason, my neck felt really warm for a while after that._

 _Of course, had I took what Rika said about focusing on what's around you more seriously, I might've seen what was wrong._

"(LT) Did you ever meet Rika's father?" Pipsqueak asks, bringing a sudden but welcome shift away from that memory.

"Oh, boy, I certainly did..." Even now I get goosebumps whenever I remember anything about Rika's father. "I don't mean to assume, but if you all had met her dad back then, we _all_ would've agreed on one thing."

"Which would be?"

"That guy gives me the creeps." A few look a little nervous.

"(LT) How?" Bill wants to know.

"Sometime around the beginning of May, Rika comes to my office to hand over her completed work...and had a BIG request as well."

* * *

 ***The (Past!) Once-ler's POV***

"Your father wants to come HERE?!" I ask in surprise. Rika has hardly made ANY sort of special request from me since I hired her!

Until now: Her father is coming and wants to see the place.

Mom - who caught the tail-end of the conservation as my doors shut - was all for it. She came in and immediately said she would LOVE to have him join us and his daughter for dinner. I pointed out that he would need security clearance to get to some areas and that would take time but Rika assures me that he probably would not have much time to stick around anyway. Although I felt this wasn't the way I wanted to go, from Rika's assurance I got the impression they must not see one another very often. So I agreed.

A few nights later, my family - Brett and Chet, Mom, Uncle Ubb, and Aunt Grizelda - are busily preparing for Rika's father's arrival. *knock knock*

"Ooh, he's here, Oncie!"

"I know, Mom." I quickly adjust my tie in the mirror and open the door, preparing to give this guy a welcome smile...

...and almost immediately _freak_.

The man standing in front of me is TALLER than me, which is scary on its own, but he's also really BIG. No, not fat, just BIG. Not only that, he's got this mustache that's kinda curly and is as bald as an egg...

* * *

 ***The (Present!) Once-ler's POV***

"But what was REALLY freaky about this guy," I say to everyone, after we begin to settle into my bedroom for the night, "was that he had this rather squinted scowl-like expression on his face. All. The. Time."

My friends' eyes all widen as I continue telling them of Rika's father's visit.

"I don't think he ever said a single word to ANY of us. Er, meaning me, my mom, etc."

"He would only talk to Rika?" Mustache asks, a little confused.

"I guess. This guy was scary enough to cause my Uncle Ubb to SIT ON MY AUNT'S LAP during dinner."

 _The six of us crowded around the opposite end of the table while Rika was talking to him animatedly on the other end, completely oblivious to the...fear the rest of us were feeling._

The others ask me if Rika said whether or not her father actually LIKED any of us. I said I had no idea.

What I really think is that, even then, he might have known that I was bad news and that his daughter was headin' for trouble if she stayed in my company long enough.

 _(That night while everyone is sleeping, The Once-ler quietly goes downstairs and looks out the window. His face brightens when he finds Polaris, and, rubbing something on his neck, he silently heads back to bed)._

* * *

 **HAPPY NEW YEAR! Here is my first chapter for 2018! *shock***

 **1) Also termed 'Pole Star' and 'Polaris', the North Star is the brightest star in the Ursa Minor constellation. It does NOT change its position in the sky! See Wikipedia if you're interested!**

 **2) The Antlia constellation is apparently an air pump. I was really struggling for a name for these chapters and I found the perfect fit! For more info on this constellation, see the website seasky dot org for more!  
**

 **Ooooh, a bonding moment! But what does all this mean for The Once-ler? :O**

 **In our next chapters, we will hear The Once-ler talk about his favorite relative and more!**

 **Don't forget to cast your vote in my Poll - which is actually up on my Profile Page - with your guess as to what The Once-ler baby is!**

 **Staaaay tuned...**


	21. Of Yeti (and Zula)

**Hello, readers. This story is still chugging away, though I've finished with school now...  
**

 **If you have not yet cast a vote for The Once-ler baby poll, you've got** _ **plenty**_ **of time because The Big Reveal isn't gonna be for quite a lonnng time…**

* * *

Chapter Twenty-One: Of Yeti (and Zula)

( _Now back in the present, a few days later, The Once-ler is working underneath one of the Super-Axe Hackers while The Lorax and animals are sitting around watching._ )

 ***The (Present!) Once-ler's POV***

As I was telling Audrey of how me and Rika got to be friends, The Lorax and animals were playing in and around the factory. Some happened to go a little further down the length of it and when they looked through one of the windows, they made an exciting discovery: a fully-intact Super Axe-Hacker. When Audrey left, I walked through the inside of the place trying to remember how it is we _get_ to it.

It's been awhile.

We manage to find the big double doors in the way back of the factory that led to one of the "holding stations", where the Hackers would go for repairs and such. It was getting dark by then so I grabbed a few leftover blueprints scattered around and took them up to the Lerkim. Over dinner, I realized that this wasn't just ANY Hacker - this would've been the Super Axe-Hacker 2.0, a slicker, speedier version. THAT news wasn't much fun to break to Mustache but as I was telling them this, I had an idea: If I rework the thing, we could have our own vehicle (of sorts) to drive. And that might make watching over the valley a little easier, at least until our stalker takes a hike. Everyone seemed to like that idea.

And that's how I found myself working under the belly of the Super Axe-Hacker 2.0. Just me, though. None of the others know how to do anything mechanical (except for handing me stuff), so I bought some of my old photo albums for them to read through.

Of course, I removed anything incriminating beforehand.

"(LT): Rika made this?" Willie asks.

"Yep," I say, "I found the regular ones were coming back too slow, particularly when they had to carry back a tree from a long distance. We tried many different designs before this one. There was even one that ran like a top, but that didn't work out so well - you'd have to constantly keep it running just so it could stay up right."( **1** )

I'll never forget how freaked out my uncle got on its first test run. _Obviously,_ we scrapped that and went with the usual design instead - Rika just modified it a little.

"Okay, wrench please," I say wheeling myself out from under it.

Ellie is the one who hands it off to me. "(LT): Did you work on these?" she asks.

"Oh, no, I did cars...although that was more of my cousin's job -"

"Outta the fifty million ones you have, can you remember which one?" The Lorax asks with, I detect, a hint of exasperation.

"I do," I say, coming out from underneath the Hacker. "Hand me that album over there..." One Bar-ba-loot and Swomee-Swan bring it over and I start flipping through. I stop when Mustache notices something unusual about one of the newspaper clippings.

"This can't be right! I remember this date and you were still in the valley!"

"That's because I was." _I guess THEY were fooled too!_

"(LT): Then who's _that_ in the photo?" Charlie asks.

"The cousin I was looking for," I come to another picture, this time of a man that looks like me. The others are surprised as the man bears a strong resemblance to me when I was younger.

"This is Yeti. Yeti Yunce-ler. My first cousin. But we call him Yonnie. He comes from Eastern Europe, and the two of us were close when we were younger ( **2** )."

The photo of Yeti isn't in color so I explain that some would mistake us for the other either by hair color (up close, his is really dark brown), height (he's a few inches shorter), and eye color (his eyes are a darker shade of blue). The reason Mustache was confused on those newspaper dates? _Wellll_...sometimes I would not feel up to going to whatever event scheduled - and there were a lot of them! - and he would go as me.

The kicker? No one was the wiser! Everyone was _amazed_ by that!

"What was Yeti like?" Mustache asks.

"Oh, all of you woulda liked Yonnie a lot. He was always up for a laugh, and he looovvved pullin' pranks, so you had to be a little careful around him. He could also swipe stuff without being noticed."

Yonnie was always more social than me and due to that, he had mastered that I never learned how.

 _When we were much younger, my family took a trip to D.C. and we met up with him there. I don't remember what exactly what I did that got Mom to scold me. As we continued on our trek, Yonnie whispered to me "Your mom's a biii-". I was shocked because I was a little kid and saying something like that was a sure-fire way to get me spanked so hard I wouldn't be able to sit down for at least a week..._

"Yeti knew how to work people, he was always more perceptive at reading them. As such, he could work them and - in a sense - play them off one another."

I reach a page and stop. "And he had help in that department, because of THIS woman..." The photo I reach shows Yeti and a woman who just comes up to his shoulders in height. She's wearing dark clothing but her hair is (and was) very bright. The caption below reads _LUCKY DOG YONNIE IS GETTING HITCHED_ in scribbled black ink.

"This is Zula. She might have seemed unassuming at first but once you got to know her, the more you'd like her."

"(LT): Is that _real_ fur she's wearing?" Skipper asks suspiciously, his eyes squinting.

"I don't know. What I DO know is that she always wore the same basic stuff." I flip through the photos and Zula is essentially the same in every one: same length of blond hair, same dark glasses, same small dark hat, same dark fur coat with matching gloves, same boots ( **3** ).

"When I got my business started, one of the first things I did was put Yeti in a high position and just like Rika, he never let me down." I trail off.

Out of all my family, Yonnie was the only one who really thought my idea could go far and encouraged me every step of the way. In my exile, I would sometimes wonder about whatever became of my rascal cousin.

"(LT): Do you think he's still out there?" Pipsqueak asks and this starts a chain of _other_ questions like 'How could that be if he isn't here?' or even 'Is Yeti still alive?'. To that, I have an answer.

"If my cousin is still alive, I would be _ecstatic_ , but honestly it wouldn't surprise me if he _wasn't_."

"Why not?" Mustache asks.

"Because that guy could SMOKE, oh my _word_ , he could smoke even more than the stuff comin' outta THESE chimneys..." I rub my temples, remembering the countless times I asked Yonnie some version of the question 'Is there anywhere you DON'T smoke?' ( **4** ). Zula doesn't fair much better either - she was always pretty sickly, though you would never know this if you only met her once or twice.

It's getting to be nearly lunchtime. I decide to go bring something from my Lerkim and we can eat out here. It's super bright outside, not a cloud in the sky, and not the kind of weather you'd expect some nutcase to take a swipe at you.

 _*Vvv-room*_ I stop in the pathway a few feet from my porch, a scowl coming over my face. It's only a feeling but I just KNOW whoever's makin' that noise is our culprit.

And they have arrived.

* * *

 ***Gasp!* What's The Once-ler gonna do?! :O**

 **#1: In the original 1972 _Lorax_ cartoon, there is this funky looking blue vehicle that resembles a top and swings an axe in a circle. It looks cool for a cartoon, but I doubt it would be very practical in real life XD**

 **#2: Also in the original cartoon, in the song _Take A Letter_ The Once-ler mentions a cousin who is general manager of Thneeds Inc. in Stockholm, Sweden. In the transcript I found (from the National Association of the Deaf), the name is given as 'Yenna Yuntzler' who is called 'Yonni'. One artist from Deviantart drew a picture of what they thought this cousin looked like, and gave her the name of Yetta 'Yani' Yunce-ler. **

**Whoever this cousin is, I think the fact that The Once-ler mentions the name out of every other family member in the original cartoon indicates that the two are close. Yeti Yunce-ler is my version on it, but you probably already know that XD**

 **#3: The image of Zula, who is an OC of mine, comes from a background character in _The Runaway Dolls,_ the third book in the Doll People series by Ann M. Martin and Laura Godwin. I won't spoil it, but if you read, try to spot the character in the background!  
**

 **#4: A paraphrase of a quote from the 1976 movie _All The President's Men_ with Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford.  
**

 **Be sure to cast your vote in my Poll as to what the gender of The Once-ler baby, as we tick closer to The Big Reveal!**

 **...IF The Once-ler lives long enough to see that! :O**

 **Staaaay tuned...**


	22. THIS LAND IS MINE

**Okay, so when we last left off, our culprit is HERE!**

 **And they're about to make a move on The Once-ler! What will he do?!**

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Two: THIS LAND IS _**MINE**_

( _We see a dust cloud where The Once-ler was. A moped zooms out and almost falls over to the right as it drives off. The dust clears and The Once-ler is on his knees, the red album a foot in front of him._ )

 ***The (Present!) Once-ler's POV***

Everything happened so fast…!

I didn't even have time to turn around!

All that matters is that whoever that was on that moped tried to _**grab my photo album!**_

But I had a stronger grip than they must've anticipated, because they let go of the handles to try and pry it away from me. I shrieked something that (probably) came out as jibberish but immediately after the person is forced to abandon that (due to still having their feet on the pedals).

My friends run up to me, all of them initially attracted by the sound of the engine and sped up when they heard me scream.

"(LT): Oh, man, looks like this guy tried to do a bad movie stunt…." Rodney remarks and he leans over to-

" _DON'T TOUCH THAT!"_ I literally leap the few steps and put myself between the album and the outside – I cause him to fall over but The Lorax gets between us going "easy, easy"…not that it would become an actual fight…

I get to my feet, aware that whoever that was could come back at any moment now but I hear the grownups herding the younger ones inside. I get to the door and the rest of them hurry in before slamming the door shut.

"What WAS that?!" Mustache wants to know. All around my living room and in the kitchen, the younger animals have found a hiding space, some are being helped in.

 _*Vroom*_ Me and Mustache glance at each other. " _Don't"_ he whispers to me, knowing what I wanna do. I go to the floorboards in-between the stairs and the front door. From under the floor I take out an antique rifle – or is it a shotgun? I've never been brave enough to learn the answer – whisper _"Wait here"_ back to my totally mortified friends. I open the door…

 _Hm? This guy's nothing like I expected._ The person on the moped is facing me. I can see the top of their head but beyond that I don't see anything that could possibly help me identify 'em. They're wearing this long white coat so I can't tell how tall they are; they have a futuristic-looking visor on their faces so I can't see THAT either. I shut the door behind me, march to the front steps, and stand there defiantly.

"There's nothing here for you!" I call out to them. "Go away and leave us alone!"

"There is still. _YOUR. SECRET._ " is the near-booming response I get.

Oh, _no. THAT'S_ not happening! **"MY SECRETS ARE _MY OWN_ _TO REVEAL WHEN I DECIDE TO REVEAL THEM!_"** I thunder back.

The person leans forward revving up and I look away, bracing myself for getting run on top of. But instead, they do a long turnaround and speed off down the path and in the direction of town.

"It's...okay." I call a little wobbly. "You can come out now."

Mustache is out immediately. He quickly climbs up _me_ and starts shaking me by my shoulders going "What were you _thinking_ , doing something crazy like that! I was scared to death over you!"

The animals have something ELSE in mind - namely, why _there's a gun in the house_ , and secondly, why I didn't TELL them there was a gun in the house.

We head back in and I get down to put it away. I'm conscious of the looks I'm being given.

"(LT): You've never struck me as the type who would have a gun..." Pipsqueak says, slowly and uncomfortably.

"I'm not. The truth is I cannot stomach the _sight_ of a gun...however," I reach over and shut the window. "We will not have to worry - sort of - about any mishaps with this thing _because_..." I click it open. There's nothing there.

"It's EMPTY?" The Lorax gasps.

"Uh-huh." I reply, putting it under the floor. "This type uses powder to force the bullet - which I don't have any of - out."

"(LT): You were bluffing!" Bill flaps from a high cabinet.

"Yes. Yes, I was." Prior to this point an unnerving thought would come to me and I've been able to dismiss it. But after what's just happening, I now know we cannot rely on simple safety measures.

We need _firepower_.

Suddenly exhausted, I bring everyone out to the front porch, whereupon we discover how difficult it is to hold a conversation when we're all facing the same direction ( **1** ). Those in the very front turn halfway around, not being able to keep from looking over their shoulders.

"You're not gonna be able ta bluff forever." Mustache states grimly.

"I'm aware."

"And when it comes to blows?"

"If that happens, I'll shoot the dirt on the ground." I sit up straighter, as if to intimidate my opponent. "This house, and the ground around the factory sits on, is _MINE_. And until the Truffula population is stable, this is _your_ home too."

We brood in silence for a while.

"(LT): Hey, um...why do you have that gun if you're so afraid of it?" Lou asks timidly.

"It was a gift to Uncle Ubb, from one of _his_ relatives. I don't even know how I got a hold of it...though there _was_ a time I tried to learn how to use it."

 _The area I grew up in had a lot of people who liked to go hunting and things like that. Well, somehow or another, it was decided my family was gonna learn how to shoot too._

"Or at least we WERE, but no one in my family was brave enough to even get outta the car. Myself included! Uncle Ubb had the most gun exposure, he was able to get out, but even he wasn't brave enough to enter the shooting gallery. But it's...honestly much better this way. If I don't know how."

"Why?" _Oh, boy, here comes the hard part..._

"Because once -" I shudder and will myself to go on, "Once you kill another human being, you... _change_. Forever. There's NO going back."

My eyes fall on the photo album with Yonnie pictures, the little ones having brought it out to finish reading through. I pick it up and turn to the page announcing Yonnie and Zula's engagement.

"You know what? I'd rather not talk about that _other stuff_ " - no one objects to this - "because the story of these two gettin' married is something I'd _rather_ tell instead."

"The year was 1972..."

* * *

 ***Whew!* THAT was a close call!  
**

 **#1: As do the characters in _The Meanest Doll in the World_ , the second in Ann M. Martin and Laura Godwin's Doll People series.**

 **Regarding the type of gun The Once-ler has, I imagine it would be somewhat like rifles used in the Revolutionary War. But what The Once-ler says about USING it is absolutely correct. The title of this chapter comes from a 1943 film of the same name, and it's about a schoolteacher in Europe who eventually start to stand up to the incoming Nazis.  
**

 **By the way, I've also edited one of the previous chapters because I've forgot to put something on the ending notes. The Poll for The Once-ler baby is still up and could SERIOUSLY use more votes! :O**

 **Next up, we will actually be meeting the fun-loving Yeti Yunce-ler and his 'unassuming' new bride Zula! And The Once-ler and Rika have a crazy bonding moment in "Chapter Twenty-Three: The Trouble with Red (The Color)"!**

 **Staaay tuned...  
**


	23. The Trouble with Red (the Color)

**As promised, I now bring you, dear readers, the story of Yeti and Zula's wedding!**

 **(Please enjoy responsibly!)**

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Three: The Trouble with Red (the Color)

 _"Scratch that, this whole thing really started in the week of Thanksgiving, in 1971…"_

 ***The (Past!) Once-ler's POV***

"…I hope to have those by Monday." I hang up the phone and turn my attention back to my business reports, my eyes straying back and forth between that and my most recent sales report.

Thneeds are once again the #1 sold item of the season. Those numbers have only been growing.

 _*Ring!*_ "Yes?"

" _BZZZZT!_ Wrrrong answer! Better luck next time!"

I laugh, and wave to Mom to hold the rest of my calls. "Yonnie Yunce-ler, how the heck have you been?"

"Much better now that I'm talkin' to the Head Honcho, who _JUST HAPPENS_ to be my very favorite cousin!"

"Pffft, you flatter me too much!"

"I have great news! My household net worth is going to expand beyond my current position because I'M GETTIN' MARRIED!"

"WOO-HOO!" Me, Mom, Brett and Chet all jump up and cheer. Say what you want about my family but we _do_ love a good wedding…and to be more specific, we love the reception _after_ the wedding.

"Aw, Yeti, you dog! You were always quite the ladies man."

"THIS lady has managed to tame this dog. I know you'll love her, Cousin. Her name is Zula and she can-not _wait_ to meet you in person!"

I smile, misty-eyed. _I knew he'd talk more personally about me like that._

"Oh, and guess what else? I've gotta little surprise for ya…." I hear some muffled talking in Yeti's native language and I lean against my desk. Then I glance behind me.

" _Mustache."_ I mutter angrily. The Lorax has climbed up to the window on the far left and as usual, he has a scowl on his face.

Phone still in my hand and in my ear, I march over and pull the curtain down.

"Okay, are you ready?" Yeti asks excitedly.

"Y-yes, yes, I am…!" I notice Mustache appear on the windowsill immediately NEXT to the one I just let the curtain down on.

So I go over and shut THAT window's curtain and then I hear "Helwhoa, Cousinnn One-wer!"

I had stopped in my tracks when I heard the babbly voice...and then continue to the NEXT window for - wait, do I really need to tell you that?

"If you think that was cute, listen to this! Okay, Alice, what comes next?" Then he starts singing a company jingle ( **1** ):

 _Up the old assembly line,_

 _Comes another Thneed,_

 _Answering Humanity's_

 _each and every need,_

 _Everybody -_

"Woo-woo wheed a fweeed!" is the ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE answer.

"She's talking _AND_ singing now!? That's incredible, Yeti!"

"Alice asks us every day now if we're coming over to see you yet." I can't respond to that because I reach the fifth window and, in trying to get the curtain down, end up pulling the phone base off my desk. It lands with a loud *clatter!*

"Ah, Cousin?" I'm glaring at The Lorax, who has come around to the balcony and is ALSO glaring. "Are you still there?"

"One second, Yonnie." I move the phone away from me. "Mustache, go away! Can't you see I'm on the phone with my cousin whose getting married?!"

His eyes widen briefly in fake surprise. "'See'? What I can SEE is food startin' to get thin and _you_ not appearin' to care!"

"Whoa, whoa!" I hear Yonnie exclaim. "Is that that Lorax thing?"

"Uh, um, yes..." My eyes dart a little nervously between Mustache and the phone.

"Give 'em to me. _I'll_ straighten him out." I move it away and reach it out towards The Lorax, who looks confused.

"My cousin wants to speak with you."

With a baffled and suspicious look, he takes it. "Hello, Bean-Pole's cousin whose getting married." I face palm my forehead. Whatever Yonnie says to him, he leaves shortly after that.

* * *

"I think he was threatening me in, in...whatever other language he spoke!"

"Yeah, probably..."

"(LT): I think I remember when this happened! You didn't come back when you said you were gonna!" Ellie remarks.

"Don't worry, I'll get to _that_ soon..."

* * *

Once my call with Yeti was over, I lean back in my chair and my gaze falls on the reports Rika brought over yesterday. While looking through them, a paper with a drawing on it fell out; it is drawn in the same way you expect most children would - the drawing of a red rocket with a yellow star on it attached on its holding station ( **2** ). Apparently Rika drew it when she was much younger and when she was bigger, she scrounged together enough pieces and made her own small model. She's bringing it over right now.

She arrives, carrying the thing in her arms and has her lunch box's strap in her mouth. "Weire it tis!" she says, sitting the set triumphantly on my desk.

"Wow..." I sit up straighter to look closer, "this is amazing, Rika, but...where's the rocket?" The red bottle-shape is nowhere in sight on the set!

Rika blinks but unlike the other times, it's in slight annoyance. "In my ceiling."

"...IN your ceiling?" _Oh, boy..._

"The GOOD news is I know _exactly_ where it is in the ceiling," she replies, "the _bad_ news is...that I had to go get it out." She slumps and kind of pouts, showing me the bottom half of the rocket. I assume the other half is still stuck in the ceiling above her desk.

"Oh, well, it was useful while it lasted. Even though I could never get to go past ten feet." ( **3** ) I don't bother pointing out that that's a fair distance.

"I think my cousin Yeti will get a kick out of this when I go to his wedding this coming spring." I've already talked about my cousin to Rika and vice versa. When I said 'wedding' her eyes visibly lit up and she starts chewing her food quicker.

"A wedding! That sounds like a great opportunity to observe the formalities involved in the human -" she goes on in her 'science talk', which my family and even The Lorax and animals have dubbed it but something about it strikes me as odd.

"Rika..." I ask a little slowly when she's done talking, "have you ever actually been to a wedding?"

"Nope." She shakes her head, not at all down by this.

My jaw literally drops at this and I exclaim "You've never been to a wedding?!" and at the same time I'm thinking _Never been to a wedding?! This is UNHEARD of!_

I put down my fork with a clatter and say, "You're going to this wedding."

"Wha-?! But I'm not invited!"

"I can bring a personal guest, the groom's my COUSIN, he won't mind!" I head over to the other side of the desk where I put my travel plans.

"But I don't have a dress!" Rika protests.

"On it." I pick up the phone and get Mom on the line. "Mom, I need you to cancel your afternoon calls and go out with Rika and buy her a dress."

"A dress! Whatever for?!"

"For Yonnie's wedding, of course!" I hang up before _she_ can protest this and I turn to Rika and smile triumphantly.

I expected them to be out for awhile - you know how women are shopping! - but it was a little after seven at night when Mom returned, looking very exhausted, from shopping with Rika. It wasn't until Mom showed me the dress that I realize I didn't tell Rika the wedding has a color scheme.

Oh, well. Rika isn't part of the main wedding party, and I'm sure Yonnie will not mind anyway.

* * *

 **Looks like the wedding plans are all set!**

 **#1: This song is played about halfway through the original 1972 Lorax cartoon, when towns and stuff are popping up all around The Once-ler's factory. It sounds like the company's official theme song and I thought it'd just be another way to combine both the old and new versions together! If you want to read the full song, you can go to the National Association of the Deaf's site but you might have to poke around a little!**

 **#2: I KNOW there's a name for this and I think it is called an umbilical cable. If any of you out there are into rockets, let me know!**

 **#3: Although this varies constantly, ten feet is about the average of a six-story building, which is STILL pretty high in the air! Found on quora dot com.**

 **This is going to be the last chapter I'm releasing for this story for awhile. I feel kinda burnt out on it, and I have decided to start up my other story "The New Seeds" again. Also, be on the lookout for a surprise one-shot that's going to be released soon as well!**

 **The poll, however, will still be kept up. Keep updated by reading my Profile Page!**

 **Staaaay tuned...**


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